AP – Crocodiles, monkeys, tigers, zebras and dozens of other taxidermy animals will move to new homes after concerns about arsenic exposure forced the closure of the South Dakota museum where they had been displayed for decades.
The Delbridge Museum of Natural History at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls closed in August 2023 after testing showed potentially hazardous levels of arsenic present in 80 per cent of the specimens of the Brockhouse Collection.
The decision raised concerns that the 152 specimens, some dating back to the 1940s, would no longer be displayed. But after a search, the Sioux Falls City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution for donating the mounts to several institutions.
Under the deal, 117 specimens will go to the University of Notre Dame Museum of Biodiversity, 33 to the Atlanta-based Oddities Museum Inc, and two to the Institute for Natural History Arts Inc in New Jersey.
The move “ensures that none of the collection will be disposed of, and all items will be put to good use by reputable natural history institutions”, Sioux Falls Director of Parks & Recreation Don Kearney told the council.
The arsenic doesn’t mean the animals can’t be displayed with proper measures in places, said the zoo’s marketing director Denise DePaolo. The museum doesn’t have sufficient barriers to keep people from touching the specimens, which became a liability issue, DePaolo said.
