A caged gorilla statue that was a fixture at a Texas playground for nearly two decades was removed after some residents deemed it “racially insensitive” — but will be returning to the park soon, according to reports.
The city of Corsicana, Texas, hauled off the 500-pound gorilla from the area’s Community Park on Monday after its removal was requested.
A spokesperson for the city said some members found the gorilla statue offensive, according to CBS DFW.
Corsicana Mayor Don Denbow had told FOX 4: “It’s been interesting to me…Never thought that it would cause such a ruckus.”
According to the mayor, the city received about 45 complaints regarding the statue, which had its right arm raised. It’s unclear why the statue suddenly sparked complaints.
Following the statue’s removal, statue backers flooded the park to rally for its return, even setting up a makeshift memorial for it.
Online photos on a Facebook page for the statue called “In memory of Dobby” show the gorilla’s empty cage covered with balloons, flowers and signs that read: “Bring back our ape!!” and “Free Dobby.”
“This gorilla has been here since I can remember,” local Jenna Burkes told FOX 4. “My kids know this park as the Gorilla Park.”
Corsicana City Councilman Jeff Smith said in a post on Facebook Thursday: “WE HAVE NEWS! Update on the Gorilla-He will be PLACED BACK IN THE PARK AS SOON AS WEATHER PERMITS!”
The gorilla is one of several animal statues at the green space.
The mayor had said when the statue was put up 18 years ago, it was caged for safety.
“When they first put it up 18 years ago, they went and watched kids on it,” Denbow said. “And it would swing back and forth. And this is a piece of art that weighs close to 500 pounds.”
According to reports, the city plans to add a free-standing gorilla and a tiger to the park, but it was not immediately clear if the free-standing gorilla would be the original statue.