Thugs rip off rhino's ear in Exeter

Vandals attacked a rhino positioned outside of Exeter St David's station, ripping off its ear.

A specialist finishing had to be drafted in to repair the sculpture.

It was one of several life-size models to be positioned aroud Devon as part of Paignton Zoo’s Great Big Rhinos Project

With the trail only having started at the weekend, the rhino repair squad, made up of a dedicated team of fine finishers from Plastic Surgeon, a nationwide firm of surface repair specialists, saw an immediate requirement to showcase what they can do.

The damaged rhino was brought back to the zoo, where the repair squad set to work. Using advanced cosmetic repair techniques, Chris Garner, a Fine Finisher at Plastic Surgeon, went about rectifying the damage to the rhino.

Fortunately, the missing ear had been recovered in an Exeter pub, on Sunday, which made the repair an easier proposition but a considerable amount of repair work needed doing,

The process involved using various sanding techniques, fillers and sealants to reattach the ear and bring the surface back up to its original standard. From there, Chris then recoated the repaired surface to match the pattern of its pre-damage artwork.

With the repair complete, the damage is now practically invisible to the naked eye. Phil Knowling, Press Officer at Paignton Zoo remarked: “The repair really is excellent. You can’t even see the join!”

Cathy Baillie, Marketing Manager at Plastic Surgeon, said: “We’d put together the rhino repair squad more as a precaution than in genuine expectation of being needed. Previously, we were involved with the zoo’s Great Gorillas Project where we performed a similar function, but one that saw minimal requirement. We weren’t anticipating such a rapid involvement – assuming we’d be taking care of wear and tear towards the end of the project.”

She added: “It’s shocking that after the artist has spent so much time preparing the design that anyone would want to vandalise it. The Great Big Rhinos Project is raising money to protect this endangered species and it is sad to see this mindless damage.

"The unfortunate thing is that when the rhinos are in for repair, it means the public are unable to enjoy them. They look marvellous, so we want them to be on display for as long as possible.

"Fortunately, as a repair company, we deal with damage on a daily basis so our skilled technician was able to carry out a great repair which means that RhinoBeta3107 will soon be back on the rhino trail for everyone to enjoy.”

With 40 rhino sculptures making up the trail, the repair squad is ready for further action. Another rhino, called Glimpses – originally positioned outside of Exeter’s Guildhall – has received impact damage from what looks like a blunt instrument, again due to suspected vandals. This is the next job that the Rhino Repair Squad is tasked with.

Cathy concluded: “It’s a fantastic project to be involved with and we’re more than happy to do what we can to help it go smoothly. Let’s hope that much of the initial damage is down to exuberance rather than genuine malice, and that going forward people can appreciate the sculptures for the brilliant bits of art they are.”