Series now over?

Banksy sets zoo animals free in his latest work

Banksy's latest work was cordoned off and guarded - not without good reason, as incidents in the recent past have shown.

(Bild: APA/AFP)

Banksy sets the animals free: the mysterious street artist has created his ninth animal motif in a row at London Zoo, of all places. A gorilla appears to be holding up a shutter at the entrance so that several animals can escape, as can be seen in a photo on Banksy's Instagram account.

A seal and birds have already escaped, with three more pairs of eyes peering out of the gap. The BBC reported, citing Banksy's team, that this was the end of the latest animal series that has kept London in suspense for more than a week.

Rats are Banksy's favorite animal motif
It is not the first time that Banksy has chosen an animal park as a stage. In 2001, his lettering appeared in the penguin and giraffe enclosures at Barcelona Zoo. The artist has also used animals more frequently in the past, but usually rats.

The first to appear was an ibex on the wall of a house in the southwest London district of Kew on August 5. Every day, another motif followed: two elephants peering out of windows, three monkeys hanging from a bridge, a wolf howling in a satellite dish, two pelicans snapping at fish in a fish and chips store, a cat of prey stretching on a blank billboard and a swarm of piranhas swimming on a police glass house.

Most recently, a rhinoceros appeared in the East London borough of Charlton, appearing to board a real broken-down car. There is a traffic cone on the hood of the car so that it also looks like a rhinoceros.

Unknown person graffitied rhinoceros
However, art in public spaces is susceptible to vandalism. For example, a masked man graffitied the rhinoceros just a few hours after it was unveiled. A video published by the BBC shows the unidentified man using a spray can to put a tag on the animal's underbelly. The action only lasted a few seconds. The man then disappeared without a word and did not respond to frustrated shouts - "Why are you doing this?" - from onlookers.

Some works were removed
Unknown persons had previously removed the satellite dish with the howling wolf. Two works were removed for fear of vandals and thieves: the piranha house was first cordoned off and then moved to a safe place, according to the City of London. The cat of prey stretching with relish was also dismantled after a short time, allegedly for security reasons. The owner has promised to donate the work to an art gallery.