Zoo Knoxville Moves Forward with Big Statues LLC Who Will Contribute to a $10 Million Construction Project

Zoo Knoxville, one of the top zoos in the country, has collaborated with Big Statues, one of the leading custom bronze statue companies in the industry, to create several bronze statues of animals throughout the zoo that will be part of a new tiger forest addition, a $10 million project.

Zoo Knoxville is a 53-acre zoo located in Knoxville, Tennessee. The zoo is home to about 800 animals and welcomes over 400,000 human visitors each year. Zoo Knoxville has been successful at breeding several endangered species, including the first African elephant in the Western Hemisphere, as well as red pandas and white rhinos. In fact, the zoo has had more red panda births than any other zoo in the world.The zoo's mission is to maintain a healthy, genetically diverse population in the zoo while committing to being part of the solution to save species from extinction, both locally and globally. What better way to represent these rare creatures and also the idea of saving species from extinction, then to create life-size sculptures of these beautiful animals. The $10 million Tiger Forest project will include two outdoor tiger habitats and a building that offers indoor viewing areas for guests. After searching out for the right company to handle the special responsibility of recreating these animals, Zoo Knoxville went forward with the Utah based company, Big Statues. Well known for their uncanny ability to create detailed, realistic sculptures, Big Statues is excited to work with the zoo and will commence on the project immediately.Zoo Knoxville plans to create life-size versions of a female Malayan tiger, two Malayan tiger cubs, and a langur monkey with her offspring. Matt Glenn, president of Big Statues LLC will head the project as lead sculptor and looks forward anxiously to the future unveiling of this exceptional design. "I've always had a fascination with tigers," stated Glenn. "In high school when I was 17 years of age, I hired an artist to draw a tiger for me because I wasn't able to completely depict the animal myself in drawing. I have always loved the majestic aspect of tigers and how they're revered as magical creatures, and yet feared by everyone. This is a great opportunity to be able to recreate a tigress and her cubs and bring this beautiful work of art to this wonderful zoo."Big Statues plans to complete the project in Summer 2017. To learn more about the process of the project, visit Big Statues.