Natural Selection

A quaint shop in Reno, Nevada is stuffed with lush greenery and an odd menagerie of animal parts. Taxidermy lines the walls, gazing down upon shelves lined with plants. It’s an oddly beautiful store, a place where you’re encouraged to both look at and touch the items on display.

Natural Selection is a small natural history and curiosity shop run by a mother-daughter duo. The store combines their respective passions for gardening and taxidermy into an unusual mix of exotic plants and preserved animal specimens. It was established with the aim of helping people respect and understand the natural world.

The small space is filled to the brim with taxidermy, animal bones, succulents, and carnivorous plants. Some of the taxidermy is fairly straightforward and traditional, while other pieces show animals in costumes or posed in entertaining positions. You can also find preserved insects and butterflies, as well as Japanese moss balls, minerals, and small fossils.

Emily Felch, the store’s owner, discovered her interest in taxidermy at a young age. She ensures each specimen on display was ethically sourced and makes an effort to learn about each animal’s history as part of the store’s mission to foster respect for nature.