Making the dead come alive

Birds are a daily sight in San Diego. Whether it’s the remnants of their last meal dashed across your windshield, the squawking of a parrot interrupting your REM cycle or a seagull eyeing your meal, there’s a lot of them around town. However I’d venture to say they don’t often end up in the palms of our hands.

But that doesn’t apply to Phil Unitt.

You could say they come alive in his hands, but they don’t show up to him that way.

For 37 years Unitt has kept alive the “dying artform” of taxidermy at San Diego’s Natural History Museum. Last month he retired from his post as curator of the department of birds and mammals and chair of ornithology, but his legacy will extend years beyond as he’s been working to pass the torch onto the next generation of avian experts.

He’s cataloged a multitude of species that have existed in our region, discovered new species that hadn’t been recorded here and contributed to an atlas that would eventually serve as a baseline to understand how a series of wildfires nearly 20 years ago affected these populations.

Our intern, Mireya Miner, talked with Unitt about his extensive career and research. She got a glimpse into what it takes to make these animals come to life for those who might never have the chance to see them in the wild.

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