You’re not a fur trader, so many of the terms—hide, skin, fur, pelt, and buckskin—used to describe the outer coat of wild game animals may seem interchangeable. (And frankly, a lot of them are.) But ...

Jana Cook poses for a portrait with armfuls of mountain lion pelts at The Wildlife Gallery in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Cook sorts finished hides and boxes them up to be shipped back to taxidermists.

We started raising meat rabbits on our small acre homestead, and wanted to honor the animals that feed us by using as much of the rabbit as possible. The innards are buried, and turned to compost. The ...