Most beautiful sculptures at zoos ?

I’ve just remembered there is a beautiful garden full of metallic sculptures at Beale Park that I can’t find on ZooChat (although there are some statues from Beale Park, just not the ones I’m thinking of) depicting multiple african animals. I’ll try to remember to take pictures when I visit next.

 

Here is my shot of the same statue in Philadelphia Zoo, showing a little more context of the setting. Plus another fine lion statue in the same zoo.





All photos taken by geomorph.

 

Two more outside the entrance to Philly.



And a gorilla from the mid-90s.


Edit: Found one that has the orange meerkats.

 

Maryland Zoo has a lot of really nice ones, as well. These were both done by Bart Walter in the 1990s.

 

I haven't seen Bronx's rhinos mentioned yet? They flank the zoo center.

 

More cats!

Audubon Zoo:







National Zoo:



Los Angeles Zoo (statues originally were at the entrance gates to the former Selig Zoo):









San Francisco Zoo:





All photos taken by geomorph.

 

More Cats 2!

Busch Gardens Tampa:



Woodland Park Zoo:



Phoenix Zoo:



Utah's Hogle Zoo:



Sedgwick County Zoo:



San Diego Zoo's Safari Park:



All photos taken by geomorph.

 

I remember this one is still at the zoo, now that you mention it. It's to the right of the main outdoor viewing area, so it must've moved.

 

Dallas has a bunch of life-size ones around the children's zoo. This is the armadillo family. Some are tiny, like little lizards.


Horrible photo of it, I couldn't get a photo without a bunch of people, but Lee Simmons Wildlife Safari has a whole life size bison herd that kids can play on:


Columbus has this one of Jack Hanna inside the African area. I sat near it multiple times and it was rare to have a moment where there weren't kids sitting with it.

 

My mom thinks that was the old children's zoo in the photo, so it would've had to have been moved.

 

Virginia Living Museum has a bunch. You already posted my photo of the larger bobcat outside the entrance, here's a smaller bobcat by the exhibit. Several species have smaller sculptures like this.


Tortoise at Virginia Safari Park, which might match the one at Staten Island?


Giraffe outside Virginia Zoo:

 

San Francisco Zoo's Sculpture Learning Plaza, by Scientific Art Studio:
San Francisco Zoo - Hours
SF ZOO Animal Learning Plaza

 

@geomorph Thank you for sharing !

Interesting to see how many different variations of the lion there are at zoos.

Some of the stone sculptures are brilliant but I have to say I do prefer the bronze sculptures of the lions and tiger (?) at the San Francisco zoo.

Also the Hogle park and Woodland park zoo big cat sculptures are very striking IMO too.

 

@TinoPup Thanks for sharing!

I love the armadillo sculptures at the Dallas zoo, really well done and quite cute too.

Also the otter and cheetah sculptures at the Maryland zoo really capture the sinewy body and litheness / agility of these animals, really good sculptor whoever created those.

 

@TeaLovingDave Thanks for sharing !

I love the wolf out of all of these the way it is posed really reminds me of a medieval illustration from a bestiary.

 

Paignton is one of the zoos that have organised mass public art exhibitions of painted, life-sized animal models. The models were displayed around the local area over the summer season and then returned to the zoo to be auctioned. The Great Gorilla Project took place in 2013 to mark the zoo's 90th anniversary, and was followed by the Great Big Rhinos in 2016. It was very interesting to see to see the varied artwork.

 

Beautiful stone carved sculpture of iguanas at Pairi Daiza zoo, Belgium:



Photo credit to @KevinB.

 

Thanks for sharing @Gigit !

These are great and I think I saw a similar public art campaign with these kind of gorilla sculptures at Jersey zoo.

Ive also seen these kind of painted sculptures done in a different way as public art with skulls during day of the dead in Mexico and with lifesize sculptures of cows too.

I think these sorts of things are really an amazing and creative way to attempt to engage people with the issue of conservation.