Arsenic preserved the animals, but killed the museum

A popular taxidermy exhibit in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, was shut down after the toxin in the specimens was discovered. Many lament the loss of “works of art”.

Usually, you go to the zoo to observe live animals. But at the Great Plains Zoo in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, people also went to see the dead.

The attraction, called the Museum of Natural History in Delbridge, hosted one of the most impressive taxidermy collections in the country, with some 150 animals from six continents, each meticulously positioned in a diorama representing their natural habitat. There, visitors could get up close and personal with a (stationary) crowd of kangaroos, a leaping lion, a panda eating bamboo and much more.

August 18, Sioux Falls and Great Plains Zoo officials announced that the Delbridge Museum has closed its doors after nearly 40 years, citing an increased risk of chemical exposure to staff and visitors as animal specimens are getting older. During a press conference broadcast live on Facebook on August 29, they clarified that a majority of taxidermy mounts contain arsenic, a toxin that can cause pregnancy complications, cancer and even death.

“When we have a known carcinogen in one of our public exhibits, we can't take a chance,” Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said. during the conference. Sioux Falls City Attorney Dave Pfeifle added that "there is no acceptable level of risk from arsenic."

But the closure of the museum sparked a negative reaction from Sioux Falls residents. , many of whom have fond memories of visiting the taxidermy collection and fear the move represents the first step toward its elimination. Some say the city is not being transparent about the risks, while others suspect the zoo of wanting to get rid of the museum to make way for new attractions.

Greg Neitzert, a Sioux Falls City Council member, described the closure as an “unexpected” decision that came as a shock to him and other council members. He said the reasoning "simply doesn't pass the smell test" - that risk alone should not lead to the museum being decommissioned.

Curators as a whole are concerned about the museum's closure. could raise unwarranted concerns about the actual security of antiquities collections. “This is already something bubbling to the surface for natural history museums,” said Fran Ritchie, chair of the conservation committee for the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections. “And then boiling something like that is difficult.” Since the closure, she said, her colleagues have been contacted by other museums wanting to know whether they should remove the taxidermy pieces from display or get rid of them altogether.

ImageA panda exhibit.Credit...Great Plains Zoo