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% 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 Denise DePaolo, the zoo's marketing director. The museum doesn't have sufficient barriers to keep people from touching the specimens, which became a liability issue, DePaolo said.
The mounts' recipients will display the animals where they can't be touched — likely behind glass — and have experts and equipment to care for the aging taxidermy, DePaolo said.
Sioux Falls businessman and hunter Henry Brockhouse built and displayed the animal collection for years in his hardware store until he died in 1978. Subsequent owners donated the collection to the city, which displayed the menagerie at the museum for nearly 40 years. After testing revealed the arsenic, the museum was closed until officials could sort out the collection's future, which included passing state legislation last year to help.
Some residents were upset about the irreplaceable collection leaving their town. Council Member Curt Soehl said, “There is no path forward to keep it in Sioux Falls. Pains me to say that. It's going to be sad for me to let that go.”
Council Member Miranda Basye said, “With as much memory and as much legacy as I think is really wrapped up into this collection and the story of it being in Sioux Falls, I think the right place for it is with these other institutions that are going to care for it, that are going to give it a long-term life."
The gifting agreements state that the recipients will take the animals as is, and the mounts are theirs forever, City Attorney Dave Pfeifle said.
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Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.
