Photos: See deterioration on now-closed Delbridge Museum animal collection

Condition of taxidermy mounts presented to Sioux Falls City Councilors

Officials with the Great Plains Zoo & Delbridge Museum and City Hall continue to make the case for decommissioning a 170-specimen collection of taxidermy mounts that had been on display at the Sioux Falls natural history museum.

Great Plains Zoo CEO Becky Dewitz and Sioux Falls Parks and Recreation Director Don Kearney on Tuesday presented to the City Council during an informational meeting about their decision to close the museum last month. The closure came after arsenic was detected in the collection. But beyond the arsenic, the pair also cited the conditions of the mounts in their defense of shutting the exhibits down.

Below are the photographs Dewitz used to illustrate the cracking and wear that can be seen on many of the animals in the collection.

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