Museum’s top-flight conservation effort is for the birds

Among the remarkable examples getting some delicate care and attention was an impressive, wandering albatross, displayed behind Victorian glass to fully showcase its immense wingspan.

More than a century old, up-to-date measurements taken this week show the gargantuan seabird to be more than three metres across despite only being a juvenile. In the wild, the wandering albatross has the largest wingspan of any bird, with adults reaching more than three-and-a-half metres across.

This enables them to cover more than 120,000 km in a single year as they fly across the Southern Ocean.

Also conserved this week was the towering skeleton of a full grown adult ostrich, the world’s largest bird. Believed to date from around 1841, the skeleton was rearticulated for display ten years ago with the help of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society.

Native to Africa, ostriches can weigh up to 145 kg, lay the largest eggs of any living land animal and can run at speeds of up to 70 km per hour.

The skeleton stands proudly on display to visitors at the Discovery Centre, which is home to more than a million objects including a vast collection of vintage taxidermy.

A magnificent mounted emperor penguin, believed to have been collected during an Antarctic expedition, was also among the specimens being cared for. The penguin, which has only recently gone back on display at the centre, has been cleaned and checked for any of the pests which can cause damage to taxidermy if left unchecked.

The well-travelled penguin has previously been displayed at Durham University, Salford Museum and The Captain Cook Memorial Museum in Whitby.

In the wild, emperor penguins live in some of the harshest conditions in the world, breeding the furthest south of any penguin species. The largest species of penguin, they are believed to live up to 50 years old.

Sarah Burhouse, Leeds Museums and Galleries’ curator of natural sciences, and a specialist in avian taxidermy, said: “You’d never expect to see these incredible birds side by side in the wild, so seeing them here together in such close proximity really does bring home their remarkable size and the spectacular diversity of birds living all over the world.

“Each of them is also more than a century old, so we do periodically need to check their condition and ensure they have not been unduly impacted by wear and tear or pests over the years.

“Taxidermy like this can play a really important role in educating us not only about the animals themselves, but about how our own attitudes to them and to the natural world have evolved through the centuries, as well as what we can do today to protect and preserve them for future generations.”

The Leeds Discovery Centre, which is free to visit, is Leeds Museums and Galleries’ state-of-the-art storage facility, used to house items which are not on display and which span millions of years of world history.

Councillor Salma Arif, Leeds City Council’s executive member for adult social care, active lifestyles and culture, said: “We’re extremely fortunate to have such an incredible and inspiring collection of objects available for the public to visit for free.

“The hard work and dedication of our museums and galleries team behind the scenes ensures the collection is protected and preserved so that it can educate and inspire visitors to find out more about history, heritage and the natural world.”

Visits to the Leeds Discovery must be booked in advance. For more details, please visit:  https://museumsandgalleries.leeds.gov.uk/leeds-discovery-centre

ENDS