Against a backdrop of blue sky, mountains, tawny prairie and badlands, a small herd of stampeding bison, majestic elk and a vintage chuck wagon stand nestled in the rafters inside the entrance to the new Cabela's store.

The charge of two shaggy buffalo bulls is interrupted as they face off in battle.

Bringing up the rear, a massive bull is precariously suspended on one foot as he leaps a fence.

"The thing was a giant," said Mark Dowse of Sidney, Neb. Dowse shot the aging bull from a private buffalo herd near Custer in December. The 12-year-old bull tipped the scales at 2,100 pounds.

Dowse, who is Cabela's taxidermy product manager, supervised the design of the diorama featuring his bull.

Cabela's, a leading outfitter for outdoor enthusiasts, specializes in creating showrooms with an indoor environment that appeals to their customers. Stores are noted for giant aquariums and a wealth of wildlife trophies skillfully preserved by highly skilled taxidermists.

Dowse also supervised the search and acquisition of the game animals displayed on Rapid City Cabela's "Conservation Mountain." The giant mountain-scape, a Cabela's trademark, is now home to life-size mounts of several South Dakota big game trophies.

On the mountain, the state record pronghorn antelope shares his habitat with two non-typical whitetail deer (based on antlers) that have the distinction of being rated the state's No. 2 and No. 3 best specimens.

Dominating the mountain is Canada's "No. 2 moose," Dowse said

Cabela's customers are familiar with "Conservation Mountain" and its waterfall; each of the outfitter's stores has one, but the diorama is something unique to the Rapid City store, Dowse said.

Dowse and his team started brainstorming the details for the interior of the Rapid City store more than a year ago. The store's vaulted ceilings created the perfect space for the diorama, he said.

"We get the layout of the store and the size of the mountain, and we just do a cuss and discuss thing of what we would like to see," Dowse said. What's in South Dakota and what people expect to see are other details that are not overlooked, he said.

"You just start brainstorming what needs to be for South Dakota," Dowse said. "But then, we have all these other trophies from North America that people in South Dakota haven't seen."

On the mountain, Dowse's team strives to include not only animals familiar to a store's locale but wildlife that visitors might not normally see in their area. All of the animals are mounted by taxidermists skilled in the types of mounts they are commissioned to do. It was the diorama, however, that gave the Cabela's team an opportunity for additional creativity and a specialized theme.

In Nebraska, the team found a working chuck wagon, stocking it with pots and pans and other campfire cooking essentials, "Like they would have had in the early 1900s," Dowse said.

The chuck wagon and animals for the diorama were placed on the shelf where visitors can't help but notice them as they leave the store.

Teams of habitat specialists put the finishing touches on the diorama and "Conservation Mountain," adding grasses, shrubs and trees.

The task of mounting Dowse's impressive bull fell to Original Creations Taxidermy in Mitchell. The shop is a Cabela's company, according to taxidermist Brian Hellman.

Mounting the leaping buffalo was an "incredible challenge," according to Dowse.

With the completion of the Rapid City store, Hellman's shop has mounted game animals for 18 Cabela's stores. The company specializes in bringing "a lot of local flavor" into each store, he said.

Many of the mounts are "custom mounts," including Dowse's bison. A mount is considered custom when an adjustment is made to the form make the animal appear more life-like.

Mounting the leaping bison was a true balancing act, Hellman said. The completed buffalo weighs between 500 and 600 pounds, all balanced on a single rod anchored to a huge steel plate.

"It was quite a project," Hellman said. Creating the leaping bull took the skill of a steelworker, as well as some creative taxidermy, he said.

The buffalo's hide is sewn and glued around a foam form that has a steel interior skeleton. The foam form was shaped with fiberglass and bonded, Hellman said. It was a project that couldn't be engineered, only improvised and adjusted as needed to keep the bull balanced.

"We got her, and we got her right," Hellman said.

Rapid City taxidermist Gary English mounted six of the nine buffalo in the diorama. Two fighting bulls are specimens he shot with his bow from the same Custer herd Dowse took his bull.

English spent about six months customizing forms by bending legs and turning heads for his contributions to the display.

"If the animal is showing action, it looks more alive," English said, but it also takes time to re-construct a standard mounting form to give the animal movement.

From fish to buffalo, the Rapid City store has 350 mounted critters gracing the walls, the mountain and the diorama, Dowse said. Its trophies and displays will rival any Cabela's store, he said.

"This being a smaller store, we can't put in as many trophies in it," he said. "For the size of the store and the size of the trophies we have, it's one of our more impressive stores."

Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com

If you go

What: The opening of Cabela's Rapid City store

When: Thursday, Aug. 7; Ribbon cutting and bronze sculpture unveiling at 4 p.m. Doors are scheduled to open at 5 p.m.

Where: 3231 East Mall Drive, north of Interstate 90 at Exit 60

More: County music performer Rhett Akins will perform a free concert in Cabela's parking lot. You can register to win a five-day Colorado elk hunt, three-day Woming antelope hunt, trip to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas, Cabela's Ultimate Camping Package and a $10,000 Cabela's shopping spree, sponsored by Wyndham Resort.