Polar bear roars back into museum after restoration

A 19TH CENTURY polar bear has gone back on display in a Hull museum after a 16-month restoration project.

The 9ft bear was in danger of collapse but is now standing proudly in a specially designed case at the city’s Maritime Museum after careful work by experts at Lancashire Conservation Studios.

Robin Diaper, curator of maritime and social history, said: “He’s had a clean and been patched up but the main changes have been structural and internal because his legs weren’t able to support the weight. He’s much better looking and his posture is much better.”

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Mr Diaper said staff were delighted by the return of one of the museum’s most popular exhibits.

“We are very glad and we’ve had a lot of requests; he’s most children’s favourite item.”

To celebrate, staff are inviting visitors to name the bear, which was shot in the Arctic by Scottish whalers in the 1870s.

The £2,600 restoration revealed the haphazard nature of earlier attempts to preserve the bear, as his stuffing included a newspaper from 1874.

The museum is also hosting a display from Yorkshire Wildlife Trust tomorrow, showing examples of the marine life populating the Yorkshire coast.

Family activities are available from 10am to 4pm.