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Leeds stuffed animal collection gets a spring clean

Leeds Museums and Galleries Collection of stuffed animalsLeeds Museums and Galleries
Curator Clare Brown said some of the exhibits were more than 100 years old

A group of stuffed animals are getting a spring clean ahead of being moved to a new exhibition.

Leeds City Museum's taxidermy collection features a polar bear, turtle, and sealion as well as the first ever live giant panda to arrive in the UK.

Many of the animals are more than 100 years old and feature a number of endangered species.

They will form part of the museums revamped Life on Earth gallery.

Clare Brown, Leeds Museums and Galleries' curator of natural sciences, said the new exhibition showed the "fragility of some of the planet's vulnerable species and the ecosystems they need to thrive".

"Many of these magnificent animals were sadly hunted and killed during a time in human history when our understanding of nature and our role in protecting it was very different to what we know today," she said.

"Most of them are well over a century old too, so we need to keep a watchful eye on them to ensure they remain free of pests and to spot any signs of deterioration over time."

Leeds Museums and Galleries Giant pandaLeeds Museums and Galleries
Grandma was the first living giant panda seen in the UK when she arrived at London Zoo in 1938

Star of the show is Grandma the panda, who on Christmas Eve 1938 became the first live giant panda ever to arrive in the UK. She died at London Zoo just two weeks later after contracting double pneumonia.

Also getting a spruce up is a Tibetan yak, which first arrived in Leeds from Tibet in 1862.

The display also features the skeleton of a huge bluefin tuna, which has become endangered in the wild due to overfishing.

Leeds Museums and Galleries Tuna skeletonLeeds Museums and Galleries
The collection features the skeleton of a bluefin tuna

Work on refurbishing the Life on Earth Gallery is due to be completed later this summer, the museum said.

The new space will include updated displays with more information on the climate emergency and in-depth histories and stories of some of the museum's natural history objects.

Leeds Museums and Galleries Tibetan YakLeeds Museums and Galleries
The revamped Life on Earth Gallery is due to be completed later this summer

Ms Brown said the gallery was "always one of the most popular parts of the museum".

"It's our hope that the newly-refurbished gallery will give visitors of all ages even more opportunity to discover the story of the animal world and how they can help preserve it for future generations," she said.

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