There's a bear over there

[j4]

There are Gromits in Bristol at the moment. There are also gorillas in Norwich, giraffes in Colchester, bears in Congleton, and toads in Hull.

I first saw this phenomenon in Switzerland, with cows, and Wikipedia confirms that it was the originally-Swiss (now international) Cow Parade that started this trend off. It seems to be getting a bit silly, but I guess it's a fairly harmless silly. The idea of 'collecting' (photographing/visiting) the whole set of $animal in $town appeals to my nerdy side, though realistically I'm not likely to do it while it would involve dragging a recalcitrant toddler around with me. Perhaps I should just 'collect' similar projects and add them to the list in the Wikipedia article, because I can do that after bedtime without leaving the house.

Sadly nowhere yet seems to have filled its streets with giant fibreglass badgers.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Surely the place to do this would be.... BROCKley? EdgBADGERston? DorSETT?

[j4.livejournal.com]

I see what you did there! :-)

[atreic.livejournal.com]

Don't forget wildcats in Newtonmore (http://www.newtonmore.com/our-community/news/181-newtonmore-welcomes-the-wildcats.html)

[emperor]

I was going to say this. They were great fun :-)

[kotturinn.livejournal.com]

Rhinos (http://gorhinos.co.uk/) in Southampton (including a certain RhinOSeros (groan...))

[stephdairy.livejournal.com]

None of these is a patch on the superlambananas in Liverpool.

(S)

[j4.livejournal.com]

I was going to say "who with the what now?" but have just googled so instead will say "Crikey". Those are crazy!

[venta.livejournal.com]

Presumably the problem with badgers is that - unlike gorillas or giraffes - their most distinctive characteristic isn't their shape. I know approximately what shape a badger is, but I'd recognise one by the stripes. So once you've started painting your giant fibreglass badgers to look like Freddie Mercury / policemen / a post box you risk having a rather non-distinctive animal. Though I guess incorporating the stripes would make it more of a challenge :)

[j4.livejournal.com]

I think you've hit the nail on the (stripy) head. I have a blue badger[*] and it doesn't look like a badger at all. Though it's an American badger anyway and they're not proper badgers.

[*] "It doesn't show" / "Don't shout, everybody will want one" / etc.

[celestialweasel.livejournal.com]

We saw cows somewhere (Zurich or Vienna), also bears in Vancouver - I think they were the most impressive (mainly by the sheer number of them, you kept bumping into them in the way the others haven't been).
Weren't there painted Wenlocks and Mandevilles for the Olypmics / Paralympics?

[atreic.livejournal.com]

I saw bears in Berlin (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Buddy_Bears), they were great.