Website Updating: Animal Statues

I’ve checked all the maps from the 131 pages of this section and these are the most noteworthy changes — all in one giant post.

From the Apes and Gorillas pages – these statues in St. Petersburg are gone now:

From the Bears pages – the cub part of the sculpture in Mesa, AZ has been missing for a few years. I don’t know if it was damaged or stolen:

This grizzly bear statue in Montpelier, ID was installed in 2002:

The same artist made a replacement statue in 2014 and it was moved in front of the Chamber of Commerce last year. I liked the old one better. He was cuter and didn’t have his paw stuck in a bear trap. I suspect he was destroyed since the artist said he never liked the proportions. The new statue at StreetView:

… and from the Bear Lake Valley FB page:

The long-neglected Yogi Bear, Boo-Boo Bear, and Ranger Smith statues from a Yogi Bear’s Honey Fried Chicken that were in Rocky Mount, NC...:

… were gone by 2017. They were restored and put on display at Leon Parker Signs in Nashville, NC. StreetView finally has a map and the statues look great:

From the Birds pages. The Levering Cafe in Levering, MI closed and this statue is gone now:

The RV park changed names and this broaster chicken in Weaverville, CA that was there is gone now:

The Quacker Gift Shop in Manitou Springs, CO closed and this statue is gone now. There is another location in Grand Lake, CO which is still open and has an identical statue inside:

This one hurts. The Old Crow statue in Camden, AR is gone now. I’m sure these were mass-produced but this was the only one that I know of that still exists:

From the Bulls pages – The El Torito restaurant in Scottsbluff, NE moved to Gering, NE in 2022:

The 2024 Streetview shows that they brought both the statue and the sign to the new place:

This longhorn bull in Fort Worth, TX is gone now:

From the Cats pages. These lions in Los Angeles, CA were removed last year when the building was sold. The former building owner took them to his ranch. He might install them on the roof of a Mexican restaurant that he plans on opening in Littlerock, CA:

The tiger on top of the Hattiesburg Zoo sign in Hattiesburg, MS is gone now. I don’t know if it’s inside the zoo somewhere now or if it was sold/destroyed:

This tiger statue in Memphis, TN is also gone. This was part of the Tigers Around Town art project. I assume that it was moved somewhere else but I have no idea where:

From the Cows pages. The Mattress Ranch locations in Washington state were so much fun with their abundance of statues. I was able to shoot three of the locations before they began closing. Now, there’s only one store left in Washington (Aberdeen) which has a couple of statues and another location in Fairbanks, AK with about three statues. The other three locations in Alaska don’t appear to have statues at all. Here’s a sample photo from Port Orchard, WA before the statues were removed:

From the Elephant pages — Tommy the Elephant in West Yarmouth, MA was destroyed last year. It had been built in 1979 by T.J. Neil who built many other statues in the area:

From the Fish pages — this marlin in Tarpon Springs, FL is gone now. A new restaurant moved in last year and either removed or destroyed this statue — as well as the shark statue:

This bass statue at a taxidermy business in Hazelhurst, WI is gone (and, yes, the deer statues behind it have also been removed over the years):

This salmon statue and its fountain in Tacoma, WA are gone. I don’t know if the statue was moved elsewhere in town:

This trout and fishing pole in Dubois, WY are gone now:

From the Horses pages. This Clydesdale was installed at a bar in Morrisville, PA. It’s now a pizza place and the statue is gone:

This Clydesdale in Greenwood, MS was installed at a ranch supply place which is gone now and so is the statue:

This store and statue in Rupert, ID are gone now:

From the Mammals pages – this Howling Wolf sculpture in Oakland, CA is gone now:

The Cowboy Armadillo in Dallas, TX is gone now:

This giraffe in Huntington, WV was believed to have been destroyed during a storm in 2023 — but it’s back up!

From the Mice page, this guy in Center City, MN is gone now (and so is the store):

This Super Mouse at Discount Electronics in Austin, TX is gone now. A shoe store moved into the building:

From the Pigs pages. This restaurant in Dawsonville, GA closed last year and I assume this statue that was behind the building is gone now or will be soon:

From the Snakes and Sea Monsters pages — Nessie in Grand Rapids, MI was dismantled:

From the Whales pages — this walk-thru sperm whale at the Children’s Museum in West Hartford, CT…

… was destroyed in 2023. But before the site was developed for housing, the tail was saved and will be displayed across the street from the former museum.

Worrell’s Seafood restaurant in Wilson, NC closed in 2011. The fiberglass whale was removed in 2023. It is now being restored and will be installed on the corner of the former restaurant.

Photo below from this article from December:
https://www.newsbreak.com/the-wilson-times-1590433/3730500466984-a-whale-of-a-job-local-artist-restoring-worrell-s-landmark

From the Reptiles page. This chameleon statue in Mena, AR is gone now:

I hadn’t shot the Lizard Lounge statue in Minneapolis, MN yet — but last year it was hit by a car and it’s not yet known if it will be restored. Photo from this article:
https://www.mynortheaster.com/news/lizard-lounge-severely-damaged-in-hit-and-run/