Tiger is newest beast at Children's Sculpture Zoo in Haddonfield
HADDONFIELD – At four years old, Emily Lucas knew just what to do when she encountered a snarling predator.
The Audubon girl simply smiled and clambered on top of a Bengal tiger, newly arrived at the Children’s Sculpture Zoo in Haddonfield.
"I like him," she said after eventually climbing down from her perch on the bronze beast.
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In fact, the tiger’s popularity is already measurable at the sculpture garden on Kings Highway at Evergreen Lane.
The public chose the big cat from three choices in a $1-a-ballot vote last fall, said Stuart Harting, chair of the Haddonfield Outdoor Sculpture Trust.
With more than 400 votes cast, the tiger defeated a tortoise and an orangutan.
Each option was priced at about $20,000, according to information provided by HOST during the vote.
The tiger was purchased with financial support from Parke Bank, Harting noted.
The work, modeled on an 1854 work by French sculptor Antoine Barye, debuted on April 16.
Its unveiling was covered by student journalists from the nearby Tatem Elementary School. Their publication takes its name from the school's mascot, the Tatem Tiger.
The tiger is the seventh animal at the zoo, where a life-size giraffe towers over the other inhabitants.
The zoo also is home to a gorilla and a baby elephant, as well as a sea lion, toad and rabbit.
Jim Walsh is a senior reporter with the Courier-Post, Burlington County Times and The Daily Journal. Email: Jwalsh@cpsj.com.
This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Bengal tiger debuts after defeating a tortoise and orangutan in vote
