Nittany Lion’s ear is fixed
The Nittany Lion’s ear is back and good as, well, almost new.
The statue’s damaged right ear has been fixed by Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant.
Surprise! I'm all better. Thanks to @PennStateOPP for fixing me up.
— The Nittany Lion (@NittanyLion) February 28, 2018
Maybe let's keep the celebratory ear rubs to a minimum for a little while pic.twitter.com/ia0wkVL4zV
But earlier Wednesday, thanks to Penn State’s 3-D Printing Club, the Nittany Lion statue had a temporary replacement for its broken ear.
And, naturally, it was blue.
Did you hear? It's been a long week with only one ear, but thanks to the #PennState 3D Printing Club, (@psu3dc on Instagram), I've got a temporary replacement -- in blue, of course.
— The Nittany Lion (@NittanyLion) February 28, 2018
Thanks to Nate Ehrhardt, Anne Pauley, and Lach Peeke for their help and hard work. #WeAre pic.twitter.com/kbA4SVwnTV
The Nittany Lion’s ear was damaged over State Patty’s Day weekend, and police are investigating it as an incident of criminal mischief.
Police on Monday released photos of four individuals they thought might have information about the incident and later identified them. The investigation is continuing.
It’s not the first time the Lion has had trouble with its right ear. The statue, which was sculpted from a 13-ton block of limestone in 1940, was vandalized in 1978 and 1994.
In 1979, sculptor Heinz Warneke, then 84, made a cast for a new ear.
The Lion lost the ear again in 2003, but it wasn’t thought to be vandalism.
Sarah Rafacz: 814-231-4619, @SarahRafacz
This story was originally published February 28, 2018 at 10:41 AM with the headline "Nittany Lion’s ear is fixed."