Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters

Take your next trip with Atlas Obscura!

Our small-group adventures are inspired by our Atlas of the world's most fascinating places, the stories behind them, and the people who bring them to life.

Visit Adventures
Trips Highlight
Taktsang Lhakhang, also known as the “Tiger’s Nest”.
Bhutan • 11 days, 10 nights
Festivals & Temples of Bhutan
from
Macchu Picchu
Peru • 10 days, 9 nights
Peru: Machu Picchu & the Last Incan Bridges
from
View all trips
Top Destinations
Latest Places
Most Popular Places Random Place Lists Itineraries
Add a Place
Download the App
Top Destinations
View All Destinations »

Countries

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • India
  • Italy
  • Japan

Cities

  • Amsterdam
  • Barcelona
  • Beijing
  • Berlin
  • Boston
  • Budapest
  • Chicago
  • London
  • Los Angeles
  • Mexico City
  • Montreal
  • Moscow
  • New Orleans
  • New York City
  • Paris
  • Philadelphia
  • Rome
  • San Francisco
  • Seattle
  • Stockholm
  • Tokyo
  • Toronto
  • Vienna
  • Washington, D.C.
Latest Places
View All Places »
The ‘Old Secretariat’ government building in New Delhi.
The 'Old Secretariat'
This set is inspired by a Roman arena.
Bozdağ Film Platolari
The Sea Water Distilling Plant.
Sea Water Distilling Plant
Contemplative paths.
Ayo Rock Formations
Latest Places to Eat & Drink
View All Places to Eat »
The sign declares this the number-one gumbo shop in town.
Gumbo Hut Shioya
The pavlova comes crowned with jewel-like fruit.
Central Park Boathouse
The Village Tavern of Long Grove - exterior.
The Village Tavern
Hunter House Hamburgers
L’Escamoteur
Recent Stories
All Stories Video Podcast
Most Recent Stories
View All Stories »
The truth is out there—somewhere.
The Truth Is Out There at the Dreamland Resort (or Should We Say ‘Area 51?’)
18 days ago
Edward Payson Weston
How the 6-Day Race Became an American Spectator Obsession
20 days ago
Alresford Spy Toilet
This Public Bathroom in a Sleepy English Village Was an Epicenter for Cold War Espionage
22 days ago
Manhattan Well
The Manhattan Well: How Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton United to Solve a Murder Mystery
23 days ago

No search results found for
“”

Make sure words are spelled correctly.

Try searching for a travel destination.

Places near me Random place

Popular Destinations

  • Paris
  • London
  • New York
  • Berlin
  • Rome
  • Los Angeles
Trips Places Foods Stories Newsletters
Sign In Join
Places near me Random place
All the United States Colorado Commerce City National Wildlife Property Repository

National Wildlife Property Repository

Over 1.3 million confiscated wildlife products fill this macabre menagerie of illegal animal specimens.

Commerce City, Colorado

Added By
Kerry Wolfe
Email
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
National Wildlife Property Repository.   Ryan Moehring / USFWS
Been Here
Want to go
Added to list

About

A morbid medley of dead animals fills a warehouse just outside Denver, Colorado. Their taxidermy bodies, pelts, skins, bones, and more line the shelves. It’s like a massive zoo, made up of the remnants of illegally captured—and often endangered—creatures.

The National Wildlife Property Repository holds over 1.3 million confiscated specimens. The warehouse hosts a whole menagerie of exotic animals. Some of the carcasses are whole, while others are just a foot or bone, meant to be an odd trinket or tourist souvenir.

There are the expected finds, like mounted tigers, leopard skins, rhino horns, and carved ivory. Then there are more obscure oddities, like lamps made of zebra hooves, furniture made of elephant feet, snake wine, and pills made of dried seal penises.

It's a disturbing sight, one that forces viewers to reckon with issues like poaching and trafficking that threaten so many vulnerable species. After China, the United States has the second-largest illegal wildlife trade in the world. 

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) confiscates hundreds of thousands of trafficked animal specimens each year during their regular investigations at entry points around the country. Around 15 percent of the contents the officers seize wind up in the repository.

The repository donates and loans some of its vast collection of items to educational, nonprofit, and conservation organizations. It also hosts school field trips, where kids learn about the wildlife trade and the importance of protecting endangered species.

Related Tags

Animals Taxidermy Crime Hunting And Taxidermy Collections Death

Know Before You Go

The repository isn't open to the general public, though the facility does offer the occasional tour.

Community Contributors

Added By

Kerry Wolfe

Published

November 7, 2017

Edit this listing

Make an Edit
Add Photos
Sources
  • https://www.fws.gov/wildliferepository/about.php
  • https://www.wired.com/story/warehouse-of-confiscated-animal-horrors/?mbid=nl_102717_daily_list3_p5
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/10/science/national-wildlife-property-repository-colorado.html
  • https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160301-usfws-cites-endangered-species-wildlife-trafficking-lacey-act-rhinos-elephants-ivory/
  • https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/374819/wildlife-warehouse/
National Wildlife Property Repository
6550 Gateway Road Bldg. 128
Commerce City, Colorado
United States
39.815154, -104.880331
Visit Website
Get Directions

Nearby Places

National Eagle Repository

Commerce City, Colorado

miles away

The Grave of Silas Soule

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Riverside Cemetery

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Commerce City

Commerce City

Colorado

Places 2

Nearby Places

National Eagle Repository

Commerce City, Colorado

miles away

The Grave of Silas Soule

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Riverside Cemetery

Denver, Colorado

miles away

Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Commerce City

Commerce City

Colorado

Places 2

Related Places

  • One of the museum’s dioramas of animals staged in their natural habitats.

    Birchington-on-Sea, England

    Powell-Cotton Dioramas

    An English explorer's vast natural history collection has the first realistic dioramas of animals staged in their natural habitats.

  • Sleeping fox of the Fox Salon

    Paris, France

    Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature (Museum of Hunting and Nature)

    Dedicated to the art of hunting, with juxtapositions of contemporary art.

  • Taxidermied Polar bear from Hudson Bay area - a former “problem bear”

    Grand Forks, British Columbia

    Alpine Taxidermy & Wildlife Museum

    A curated collection of hundreds of taxidermy animals from across British Columbia, Canada, and the rest of the world.

  • WNB Financial Winona MN African Safari Exhibit

    Winona, Minnesota

    WNB Financial African Safari Exhibit

    Hunting trophies and antique guns make up the unusual display at this Minnesota bank building.

  • Peter the dog.

    Brisbane, Australia

    Queensland Police Museum

    It's home to the taxidermy remains of Peter, the dog who helped convict a murderer.

  • Halle (Saale), Germany

    Museum of Livestock Science

    A beautiful old horse stable hosts one of the largest collections of domestic animal skeletons and taxidermy.

  • The Edna Lawrence Nature Lab.

    Providence, Rhode Island

    Edna Lawrence Nature Lab

    An unusual library of dead things at the Rhode Island School of Design.

  • Chicago, Illinois

    N. W. Harris Learning Collection

    Where dioramas can follow you home.

Aerial image of Vietnam, displaying the picturesque rice terraces, characterized by their layered, verdant fields.
Atlas Obscura Membership

Become an Atlas Obscura Member


Join our community of curious explorers.

Become a Member

Get Our Email Newsletter

Follow Us

Facebook YouTube TikTok Instagram Pinterest RSS Feed

Get the app

Download the App
Download on the Apple App Store Get it on Google Play
  • All Places
  • Latest Places
  • Most Popular
  • Places to Eat
  • Random
  • Nearby
  • Add a Place
  • Stories
  • Food & Drink
  • Itineraries
  • Lists
  • Video
  • Podcast
  • Newsletters
  • All Trips
  • Family Trip
  • Food & Drink
  • History & Culture
  • Wildlife & Nature
  • FAQ
  • Membership
  • Feedback & Ideas
  • Community Guidelines
  • Product Blog
  • Unique Gifts
  • Work With Us
  • About
  • FAQ
  • Advertise With Us
  • Advertising Guidelines
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
Atlas Obscura

© 2025 Atlas Obscura. All Rights Reserved.