Putting a rare deer on display in the museum

Stuffed Swamp Deer (Barashinga)

We recently moved one of our large stuffed animals from the Mammal Gallery into the entrance hall. The deer is positioned opposite a large statue of the Buddha. We wanted to put these two objects together to explain to visitors what our two main areas of work are. The deer, an Indian Swamp Deer (Barashinga), represents our commitment to promoting sustainability. The statue of the Buddha represents our work on promoting understanding between cultures.

Both objects look fantastic in their new positions and the juxtaposition is especially interesting. The deer has an interesting story attached to it as it came from a local zoo, Belle Vue Zoo, in 1907. We have letters from then offering the deer to us. We even know who stuffed it. The deer is a good example to use for promoting sustainability as Indian Swamp Deer are much, much rarer than they used to be and their habitat has become fragmented. The deer looks a million times better than it used to on the gallery.