Brace Yourselves, This One is a Doozy

I was actually looking for more taxidermal (taxidermic? these are both apparently the adjective form of 'taxidermy') lions (a perennial favorite around here), when I stumbled upon this:

via Dull Tool Dim Bulb

GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

What? Why? How? Who?

This actually is taxidermy, because (again, brace yourselves), that's REAL SKIN up there.

From Dull Tool Dim Bulb:

"As much taxidermy as folk art, this terrifying lion must have certainly been part of a menagerie, as whoever made him was magnificently talented.  Wooden teeth, fake eyes, an actual animal skin around a internal frame of unknown material.  The mane is gone, long gone, and replaced with another piece of animal skin tacked on with brads.  Extraordinary!  The entire body is hand-stitched, possibly with sinew...and the lion is ten inches long."

This thing is from the nineteenth century, a time when people were genuinely weirder than they are now. Just, completely screwed up. 

Here, have another angle:

The most important thing is that you don't think about this lion as you're falling asleep tonight...