Another Roaring Success for Staffordshire’s Eccentric Zoo

Zoos across the West Midlands are the proud new keepers of Staffordshire University’s Eccentric Zoo animals.

The life-sized and three-dimensional rhino, crocodile, penguin, elephant, and tiger were made entirely from sticks, string, leaves, bark, and other materials.

The special animals have been adopted and are on display to visitors at West Midlands Safari Park, Dudley Zoo, Twycross Zoo, and Hanley Park.

Students on the Foundation Art and Design courses were given just eight days to research their given animal and collect natural materials from Hanley Park, before transforming their ideas into 3D sculptures – all within their first two weeks at Staffordshire.

The largest of the animals, the Asian elephant, reaches an impressive height and length of 6ft, and the Nile crocodile lies in wait at a terrifying 15ft.

Tim Forrester, the Award Leader, said: “Each team was challenged with practical issues such as working in 3D, balancing analysis with expression, fixing the materials together securely and innovatively, as well as problem solving.”

George and Nikki, who made the rhino, commented on their problems: “It was also a lot harder than we thought it would be to collect the bark for the body, and it was very challenging to get the rhino to stand up on its own. We’ve never done anything like it.”

“It definitely feels like an achievement”, beamed Kelly and Becky, who had to weave each individual leaf onto their tiger with string to make up its body.

Many of the students said they’d be visiting their animals in their relocated homes.