Woolly, the iconic mammoth display inside the Royal B.C. Museum, was the backdrop for a climate protester in Victoria on Wednesday.
A video circulating on social media shows a protester making a statement in front of the display on March 1, with pink paint visible on the mammoth.
The group On2Ottawa is taking credit for the statement, stating on Twitter it is the announcement of the On2Ottawa campaign, intended to mobilize Canadians to go to Ottawa to press the federal government to form a citizens’ assembly on the climate crisis.
While the audio was not working in the original post, the video was reposted with a protester identified only as Laura stating the group has given a one- to two-year timeline for the formation of the citizens’ assembly.
Whoops, this time with working audio 🙄 pic.twitter.com/0bK9TVTSeB
— On2Ottawa (@on2ottawa) March 1, 2023
In a statement, the museum said the incident took place at approximately 11 a.m. An activist applied pink paint to the mammoth’s tusks before being reprimanded by museum security. The Victoria Police Department was called and took the activists into custody.
“Museum staff members from the exhibitions and conservation teams successfully cleaned off the water-soluble paint from the entire diorama. There was no permanent damage to Woolly, who has been a favourite for visitors to the museum for over 40 years, and the exhibition was reopened within 90 minutes.”
Three people were arrested, according to a statement from VicPD.
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