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A new statue has appeared along Front Street in Dawson City, Yukon, beside the town’s existing giant mammoth sculpture.
The baby mammoth appeared earlier this month, and according to the artist behind the creation, it’s an ode to Nun cho ga — the nearly perfectly preserved baby mammoth that was discovered by a placer miner in 2022.
“I thought I should bring it back to life again,” said artist Halin de Repentigny.
de Repentigny said he did his research on the Nun cho ga and what the baby mammoth would have looked like when it was roaming the territory over 35,000 years ago. He said once he got the size, and weight of the animal he went to work.
“You make one out of clay first so you can work from that size make it bigger from that,” he said. “Then you need some rebar. Some cement. It’s a lot of work actually.”
de Repentigny said the entire process, from drawing the animal to final placement took “a couple of months.”
He said once the sculpture was finished it was a pretty obvious choice to put it beside its much larger relation, which was created and placed on Front Street in 2020.
A giant mammoth statue stands beside its newly created family member on Front Street in Dawson City, Yukon. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
Like the giant mammoth statue, de Repentigny said the baby mammoth sculpture was paid for by a local miner. He said he approached miner Tim Cole and offered the opportunity. He said: “they thought it was a great opportunity for them to buy the mammoth for the town.”
“I’m hoping the kids are going to ride it,” de Repentigny said. “It’s very solid. Anybody can ride it.”
de Repentigny said he’s already thinking about the next installment that could accompany the mammoths. He said maybe a female mammoth, or maybe even a sabre-tooth tiger. de Repentigny said in either case he’s hoping to get the community involved in its creation.
“I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “Next time I would like to get more of the community working on it with me because it’s very difficult with my hands. It’s not easy work.”
Melinda Stanfield was visiting Dawson City, Yukon, from Portland, Oregon. She said she was in awe when she saw the two mammoth statues. (Chris MacIntyre/CBC)
Melinda Stanfield was visiting Dawson City from Portland, Oregon. She stood in awe looking at the two statues after learning about the history of them in the Klondike region.
“I didn’t know that last ones existed only 4,000 years ago,” Stanfield told CBC News.
“It’s amazing artwork. I think people that have talent like that should be recognized.”