Dunedin is not known for having a large polar bear population, but an upcoming taxidermy auction has brought one of the fuzzy white beasts into town for the second time this year.
In June, Proctor Auctions held a taxidermy auction where a polar bear standing on all four legs sold for $44,000.
The business will hold another such auction later this month, this one even bigger than the last.
The collection contains a wide variety of creatures from all over the world, and along with the polar bear, a taxidermied juvenile giraffe, toucan, the rear end of a zebra and a pet cat named Misty will go under the hammer.
Proctor Auctions manager Ronnie Proctor said close to 200 pieces would be available in the auction, making it ‘‘probably’’ the biggest taxidermy auction yet.
He did not know how much the upright polar bear would go for, but the species was popular at the moment, he said.
‘‘It just really depends on what someone is prepared to pay.’’
The items had come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but about 80% of the mounted heads in the auction came from one collector.
Some items in the auction made him feel uncomfortable at first, such as some of the rare exotic animals and Misty the cat, but the items were a piece of history and should be respected, he said.
They could provide a lot of joy and education to people and he hoped some would be bought by museums.
He had been able to witness some of that joy over the past few weeks.
Often children stopped in front of the window to stare with awe at the animals or came inside to feel the pelts.
It was a unique experience he was happy to be able to provide, he said.
Proctor Auctions sold another polar bear in 2019.
