Meet the Langham taxidermists preserving stories, not just trophies

LANGHAM, SASK. — Why would anyone hang a dead animal on their wall?

It’s a question Jolene and Cory Kallis hear pretty often at Tough Tines Taxidermy.

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When Jolene and Cory Kallis purchased this property near Langham, their first priority was to build their taxidermy shop. They constructed the building before even putting a house on the land. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Their shop is filled with animals — mounted and preserved. There are pelts draped over tables, skulls carefully arranged, and tools that hint at the precision of the work.

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But surprisingly, it isn’t chaotic or grim. It’s orderly, intentional and almost reverent.

For Jolene and Cory, the taxidermy industry isn’t about death; it’s about memory, preservation and respect.

An incredible amount of creativity comes into play when creating pieces of taxidermy. It’s more than just a stuffed animal — an entire scene is often created to help tell a story. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Jolene didn’t grow up in this world, and laughed as she described how it all began.

“When I met my husband 11 years ago, he was big in hunting. I was not,” she recalled. “I was kind of tired of sitting at home waiting for him to get out of the blind, so I figured I should probably pick up a hobby.”

That hobby turned into something much bigger. Cory taught her how to hunt, leading to a full immersion into a lifestyle she hadn’t expected. As their shared love of hunting grew, so did the need for a taxidermist.

When Jolene Kallis was a little girl, she wanted to become a teacher. Instead, she became tanner and taxidermist. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

“Just before COVID, we both were waiting for some work to be done from a taxidermist, and we didn’t really understand why it took so long,” Jolene said.

That question stuck with them, and pushed them to start learning the process themselves. Then, when the pandemic hit in full, it seemed like the world shut down.

“And when everyone else was quiet at home, we started learning a new career,” she said.

What they discovered quickly was that taxidermy isn’t just about mounting animals. It actually begins much earlier.

“If you don’t have a tannery to prepare everything, you don’t have a business,” Jolene explained.

Cory Kallis was hesitant when Jolene suggested they add a tannery to their taxidermy business. But he admitted he was wrong to doubt her idea. The couple refers to this space as the backbone of their business. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

It was the missing piece in an industry struggling with long delays. Many taxidermists rely on outside tanneries, with some backed up for years. As a result, Jolene and Cory decided to do it all themselves.

“We tan everything from weasels to buffalo,” Jolene noted.

For Cory, the draw of the art form runs deeper than processes or logistics. It’s emotional.

“White-tailed deer are one of the most beautiful animals that is on our Earth,” he said, gazing around at the mounts proudly hanging on the walls of his shop.

“They’re amazing, extremely intelligent. It’s just amazing to sit and watch them in the wild.”

Cory Kallis has been hunting for as long as he can remember. He said he has developed a deep respect for animals through the years, and uses that experience daily in his work as a taxidermist. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

He said that admiration didn’t disappear when he became a taxidermist. Instead, it intensified.

“When we got into this, I had a pretty good grasp on the animal itself. It just became a passion instantly to be able to take something that you harvest, bring it back to life and turn it back into something beautiful,” he said.

That word — beautiful — comes up often when Cory talks about his work.

“The more we do over the years, the harder you work to find that beauty in every animal,” he explained. “Every animal is different. Every creature is different. Every animal has its own personality.”

From deer to birds to more exotic animals, hundreds of creatures have come through the door of this small shop. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

It’s that individuality that drives the pressure he feels with every project he handles.

“These people bring these in from hunts from all over the world,” he said. “First thing on my mind is it is my responsibility to nail these.”

When taxidermy is done badly, it shows. And it matters.

“When you do wait that two-and-a-half to three years to get something back, and you go pick it up and it looks like it was about to be hit by a truck… it’s really disheartening,” Cory explained.

Tools of the trade. Knives are a given, but some may be surprised by the number of files and precision tools needed to ensure each mount is perfect. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

There’s a misconception with taxidermy that it’s all about trophies, but Jolene pushed back on that idea.

“It is part of our Canadian heritage. Everything from a trapped beaver to a coyote needs to be prepared into something,” she said.

To her, taxidermy is simply an extension of something people already live with every day.

Look around any home in Saskatchewan, and there’s a good chance you’ll see something that falls that’s been tanned or preserved.

“It’s no different than the leather on a belt around your jeans,” Jolene explained.

Jolene painstakingly sews the bear rugs produced at Tough Tines Taxidermy. She said it’s an intensive process, but the result is worth the effort. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

Beyond heritage or craftsmanship, there’s a more personal layer to the work as well: the stories.

“That is our favorite part of this career,” Jolene said, “To sit and just hear your story. What adventure did you go on?”

At the shop, families come in together. Parents and kids, friends, and hunters returning from trips across continents. Cory said he sees those stories as the real reason why the work matters.

“I have animals that I harvested 15 years ago, 20 years ago, that I still sit and stare at,” he said. “And it takes me right back to that evening, or that afternoon where I harvested it. Who was with me, how it went down from start to finish. They have a story.”

The first mount the couple tackled was this white-tailed deer. They said it was the start of a steep learning curve. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

And the stories aren’t reserved for record-breaking trophies.

“A young lady brought her very first whitetail in last year,” he recalled. “A lot of people would look at that and judge. ‘Why you would mount that?’”

“It doesn’t matter how big it is,” Cory continued. “You have the whole your whole life to shoot a trophy deer, but the story, to me, is more important than the size of the antlers.”

The work itself is demanding, time-sensitive and exacting.

“You can’t call a customer and say ‘Something happened,’” Jolene said. “You need to ace it.”

This business isn’t only about fur. Many clients opt for a European mount, a minimalistic way of keeping an animal’s head as a display. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)

In theory, a single project could be completed in about eight weeks. In reality, they’re frequently juggling dozens at once. They push to be faster than the industry standard, often returning pieces within a single season instead of years.

Standing in their shop, surrounded by preserved animals from Saskatchewan and far beyond, it’s easy to assume the business is all about display. But spend a few minutes with Jolene and Cory, and that idea fades. It isn’t about death on a wall – it’s about holding onto something that would otherwise disappear.

Their work is about making sure the story doesn’t end where the hunt does.

At Tough Tines Taxidermy in rural Saskatchewan, Cory and Jolene Kallis turn harvested animals into lasting memories. From a hunter’s first deer to exotic species, every mount preserves a story. (Brittany Caffet/650 CKOM)