Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) – One of the most famous pieces of the Frankfurt Natural History Museum Senckenberg is being restored: the anaconda with the half-devoured capybara. The professional restoration of the approximately 100-year-old exhibit begins this Wednesday, as the museum reported on Tuesday.
The ensemble is “one of a kind with iconic status and a highlight of our museum,” said museum director Brigitte Franzen. The animal was killed by a trophy hunter in Brazil in 1924. Senckenberg acquired the snake leather in 1925 from a dealer in Hamburg. A taxidermist then created the extraordinary arrangement in consultation with reptile researchers of his time.
According to Franzen, how long the anaconda is on “wellness vacation” depends on how well the historical piece can be edited. It is planned to bring the popular “big mouth” back to the exhibition at the end of April 2023. It should be in the usual place, but in an environment that has been redesigned in terms of content and graphics.