SearchOn its way to the San Diego Zoo, a giant puppet thrilled the assembled children at Elysian Park in Los Angeles.
Percy the porcupine is about two stories high and sports over 2,000 foam quills. When enticed—with bananas—it emerges from a log, blinks its eyes, and opens its mouth.
Its destination is a permanent home at the San Diego Zoo. On March 11, 2022, the zoo will open a new Wildlife Explorers Basecamp which highlights the interdependence of habitats, humans, plants, and animals.
Percy was modeled on a South American porcupine with a prehensile tail. It was made as a joint venture of the San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and Jim Henson’s Creature Workshop. With a circumference of 40 feet, it is the largest creature created at Henson’s workshop and took over 20,000 hours to put together. It is perhaps the largest puppet ever. It takes four puppeteers to work the eyes and mouth. But it is sure to delight all those who get to see it.
