Randy Segura of Jeanerette, shown with some of the taxidermy mounts he has done, took an eight-week taxidermy class in 1994. The craft has become his hobby.

JEANERETTE — Deer, ducks, squirrels, and even some exotic game animals have become the specialty of one Jeanerette native, who in his spare time, dabbles in the art of taxidermy.

When not working full-time for Gulf Craft in Baldwin, Randy Segura, 38, hones his skills immortalizing the bodies of dead animals.

“I’m just in love with the outdoors and in love with animals,” Segura said.

In 1994, Segura said he began an eight-week program at the Southwest School of Taxidermy in Baton Rouge. Ever since, he has been preparing and mounting a variety of animals for hunters, and sometimes himself.

“I haven’t done anything really off the wall,” Segura said, noting no one has requested he mount their deceased family pet, yet. “I do mostly wildlife. Deer, ducks, squirrels and some exotics out of Texas like axis deer and sheep.”

Segura, a single father of four kids, said his eldest son Drake also has begun taking up the practice of taxidermy.

“I started helping him out a lot with the materials he needed and then just kinda got into it,” said the 14-year-old Jeanerette Senior High student.

Segura, who also spends his spare time playing blues guitar, said he enjoys coming home from a full day working in the shipyard and relaxing with his hobby.

“I don’t think I’d enjoy the animals as much if I did it full-time,” said Segura. “But it’s definitely a pretty neat part-time business.”

Inside Segura’s home in Jeanerette, are numerous mounted deer heads, one with a 160-inch rack, which is perhaps the biggest he’s mounted, he said.

Segura said the majority of his taxidermy business comes from either word-of-mouth recommendations, his online advertising efforts, and a logo bearing the name Atchafalaya Wildlife Art & Technology, which is emblazoned on his pickup truck.

Although Segura said he couldn’t reveal all the tricks of his trade, he did say most of taxidermy involves a heavy application of epoxy and a good bit of glossing to ensure the animals maintain their lifelike quality.

Asked if he would ever consider preserving someone’s pet cat or dog, Segura smiled and shook his head no.

“I’ll just stick to the local game and the occasional exotic,” he said.

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