We are pleased to announce that our model tiger finally has a name! Isle of Wight Radio have been hostIng the competition for us, and the winning entry was provided by Donna Newnham (
left), who suggested calling the tiger
Palmerston.
We though this was a great name, because the fort the tiger will live on is one of the Isle of Wight's
Palmerston Forts. It was built during the reign of Napoleon III, when a French invasion was seen as a real possibility. We think commmemorating this part of our history is a great way of tying the new with the old, so thank you Donna for your great suggestion!
Palmerston has been repainted by artist Hannah George with a Chinese theme to commemorate the Chinese Year of the Tiger. We're glad that he will now be displayed where everyone can see him again, instead of being tucked away in our off-show area.
We though hard about the best way to get the tiger back on the roof, and were very grateful when the local fire service agreed to lend us a hand and a very long ladder....
They even carried the tiger through the zoo for us.
Isle of Wight Radio presenter Paul Topping took the chance to go up in the air with the tiger. We think he enjoyed it...
Thank you to everyone who entered. You had lots of great suggestions and it was fun sifting through them.