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Police investigate how Rome’s beloved Bernini elephant sculpture lost the tip of its tusk — again

ROME (AP) — Italian police are investigating how one of Rome’s most beloved monuments, the elephant sculpture designed by Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini, lost the tip of its left tusk — again.

Police found the 11-centimeter (4-inch) marble fragment near the statue over the weekend. They said on Wednesday that they had determined it wasn’t original to Bernini’s work but was added on during restoration work in 1977.

The same tip had already broken off during an act of vandalism in 2016, Rome’s city hall said.

Police were now reviewing security cameras to try to figure out who, if anyone, was responsible for breaking it off a second time.

The stocky little elephant, not far from Rome’s Pantheon, is a frequent stop for tourists. Pope Alexander VII commissioned Rome’s most famous Baroque sculptor, Bernini, to design it after Dominican friars discovered a small Egyptian obelisk in the grounds of their nearby convent, which is adjacent to the Basilica of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva.

The elephant, located in the Piazza della Minerva in front of the basilica, holds the obelisk on its back.

According to the Rome city hall website, Bernini and the friars disagreed about the work: The artist believed the weight of the obelisk could be borne by the elephant’s four legs, but the friars insisted the obelisk would be more stable with a stone support under its belly.

They won the argument, and the stocky look gave the elephant the nickname “Minerva’s Piglet,” because with such short legs and the central support, it looks more like a pig than an elephant.

According to popular legend, Bernini took his revenge against the friars by facing the rear of the elephant with its tail lifted toward their convent.

Galápagos park releases 158 juvenile hybrid tortoises on Floreana to restore the ecosystem

FLOREANA ISLAND, Ecuador (AP) — Nearly 150 years after the last giant tortoises were removed from Floreana Island in Ecuador’s Galápagos archipelago, the species made a comeback Friday, when dozens of juvenile hybrids were released to begin restoring the island’s depleted ecosystem. The 158 newcomers, aged 8 to 13, have begun exploring the habitat they are destined to reshape over the coming years. Their release was perfectly timed with the arrival of the season’s first winter rains. “They are large enough to be released and can defend themselves against introduced animals such as rats and cats,” said Fredy Villalba, director of the Galápagos National Park breeding center on Santa Cruz Island, noting that the best specimens with the strongest lineage were selected specifically for Floreana. These released juvenile specimens, out of a total of 700 planned for Floreana, will be introduced gradually. According to Christian Sevilla, director of ecosystems of the Galapagos National Park, they carry between 40% and 80% of the genetic makeup of the Chelonoidis niger —a species that has been extinct for 150 years.
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