30 Incredible Animal Memorials Around the World
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Humans like to celebrate great people that have accomplished remarkable things. But some animals are better than human beings, and great animals should be commemorated as well.
Many memorials, statues and monuments honor animals around the world. To get immortalized, they stole the hearts of their owners, provided noteworthy services to humanity or accomplished other historic feats.
These 30 unique memorials celebrate the life of animals everyone should know. Most of the animals are dogs, but there are also cats, monkeys, fish, elephants, lions and even an antelope. All of them will warm your heart.
1. 9/11 Search and Rescue Dog Statue
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Essex County Eagle Rock September 11th Memorial, West Orange, New Jersey
Year erected: 2016
9/11 forever changed the history of the U.S. and has inspired many memorials around the country in honor of the lives lost on that tragic day in 2001.
The city of West Orange in New Jersey has a Sept. 11 memorial that honors victims as well as the emergency response teams that risked their lives on the day of the attack and its aftermath.
In 2016, the memorial added a statue to honor the more than 350 dogs that were part of the search and rescue teams. These brave dogs helped find survivors and searched in areas that their human counterparts could not reach. The 5,000-pound statue seeks to commemorate their invaluable service.
2. Animals in War Memorial
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Country: United Kingdom
Where it’s located: Kensington Gardens, London, England
Year erected: 2004
This powerful memorial in London’s Kensington Gardens is dedicated to the various animals that served in British wars in the 20th century.
A two-piece stone wall with carved profiles of elephants, goats, camels and other animals serves as the backdrop for the memorial.
Bronze statues of mules, dogs and horses walk past a gap in the wall, which boldly states, "They had no choice."
3. Bosco the Dog Mayor Statue
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Sunol, California
Year erected: 2008
What started as a harmless joke ended in a town legend for the ages.
Back in 1981, the Stillmans, a local family in Sunol, California, decided to nominate their dog, Bosco Ramos, as town mayor. To the family’s surprise, Bosco won the election against his human opponents — which they should have foreseen given that Bosco was a popular pup around town, and human politicians rarely enjoy such favor.
Of course, he couldn’t actually carry out most of his duties, so he was given honorary mayor status and allowed some symbolic duties like leading the town’s annual Halloween parade and attending important events decked out in a tuxedo. In other words, Bosco had a similar status to Queen Elizabeth.
Bosco faithfully held office until he passed onto dog heaven in 1994.
4. Grave of Brownie the Town Dog
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Riverfront Park, Daytona Beach, Florida
Year erected: 1954
Another dog who captured the heart of a whole town was Brownie, a brown stray that made his home Daytona Beach. His story is traced back to a fateful day when he wandered into the office of the Daytona Cab Company and won over its owner, Ed Budgen (who probably also gave him his name).
As Brownie made a habit of strolling around town working his charm on locals, he quickly rose to prominence. And while nobody ever officially adopted him, Budgen set up a bank account where people pitched in for his veterinary bills and other necessities. The money was also used to buy him a dog license, which was always numbered No. 1.
Brownie’s fame eventually went national, as newspapers profiled him, and when he died in 1954, a reported 75 people were in attendance at his funeral, where the town mayor gave the eulogy. Tourists can still visit his grave in Riverfront Park and remember the dog who conquered Daytona Beach with his friendliness.
5. Greyfriars Bobby Statue
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Country: Scotland
Where it’s located: Edinburgh
Year erected: 1873
Dogs are known for their loyalty, but some dogs take this most cherished of dog traits to incredible heights.
In the late 1800s, a Skye terrier named Greyfriars Bobby earned the respect of Edinburgh townspeople when he stayed by his master’s grave for two weeks straight, until he died himself. A philanthropist of the area was so touched by the story that she commissioned a statue that would top a drinking fountain, which you can still visit today.
Though doubt has been cast on how true the story is, Greyfriars Bobby is nonetheless a local legend, and his statue and grave continue to be a tourist attraction.
6. Hachiko Statue
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Country: Japan
Where it’s located: Shibuya Station, Tokyo
Year erected: 1934
Another dog who has reached world fame for his faithfulness, Hachiko is the subject of several books and films, including an American adaptation of his story starring Richard Gere.
As the story goes, Hachiko would meet his master, Hidesaburo Ueno, after work every day at Shibuya Station in Tokyo. His master died suddenly of a cerebral hemorrhage while giving a lecture and never made it home from work. The Akita dog continued going to the station to wait for his master, until the dog's death 10 years later, and became a symbol of loyalty in Japan and the world.
Today, his statue outside of Shibuya Station is a popular greeting place and draws both local and international tourists.
7. Hamish McHamish Statue
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Country: Scotland
Where it’s located: Saint Andrews
Year erected: 2014
The playfully named Hamish McHamish was a social cat who liked to roam around Saint Andrews in Scotland. He had an owner, but the cat was so friendly that he managed to get the entire town to feed him, provide him with good napping spots, and probably wish they owned him.
His charm earned him features and mentions in the media, making him one of the few animals who had a statue made in his name while he was alive. He passed away five months after the statue was unveiled, but his memory lingers on.
8. Hiran Minar (Deer Tower)
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Country: Pakistan
Where it’s located: Ranikay
Year erected: 1606
This is perhaps the most unique animal memorial in the world.
First of all, this gorgeous tower seems fit for a palace, not an animal memorial. Secondly, it is the only memorial on this list dedicated to an antelope. And most importantly, it is the only case in which the person who commissioned the memorial to an animal was also the one who killed it.
Hiran Minar, which means "deer tower," was built in memory of Mughal Emperor Jahangir’s pet antelope, Mansraj. Although he dearly loved his pet, Jahangir also loved to hunt other antelope, and this — somewhat inevitably — led to a tragic accident in which Mansraj was shot by mistake.
To atone for his mistake and grieve his beloved pet, Jahangir built a 100-foot tower, the top of which he designated as Mansraj’s sumptuous resting place. This makes Hiran Minar the Taj Mahal of antelopes, and an unlikely Pakistani national monument.
9. Jim the Wonder Dog Memorial Garden
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Marshall, Missouri
Year erected: 1999
It’s difficult to know how much of Jim the Wonder Dog’s supposed abilities were true. In life, his owner claimed that besides being particularly gifted at hunting, Jim was a polyglot and could understand Morse code, predict sports event winners and know the sex of babies before they were born — not terribly bad for a dog who had been dismissed as the runt of the litter.
But whether his abilities were true or exaggerated, the truth is that Jim was wondrous to his owner and likely did display an unusually high intelligence. After the dog died in 1937, his name continued to carry such significance for the people of Marshall, Missouri, that in 1999, the town inaugurated a memorial park in his name, complete with a beautiful bronze statue of the famed dog.
10. Johnnie Brown’s Grave
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Palm Beach, Florida
Year erected: 1927
If you dine out in Palm Beach’s Pizza Al Fresco restaurant, be on the lookout for two small gravestones in the courtyard. Though this sounds a bit morbid, the gravestones are the only marked graves in the city, and they correspond to two animals who were loved by their famous owner, 1920s architect Addison Mizner.
The most famous grave belongs to Johnnie Brown, nicknamed "The Human Monkey" by his owner. Johnnie accompanied Mizner to many of his socialite events — which we want to imagine were very much Gatsby style — and was well-known amongst high society. His prominence even earned him a personal invitation to the historical Scopes Trial, which dealt with teaching the theory of evolution.
The socialite spider monkey remains buried next to Mizner’s dog, Laddie, to this day, and adds some interesting history to an otherwise normal restaurant courtyard.
11. Laika Memorial
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Country: Russia
Where it’s located: Moscow
Year erected: 2008
Many animals have been sacrificed in the name of science and human invention, but few are as famous as Laika the dog, the first animal to orbit the Earth from space.
Picked up from the streets of Moscow, Laika was a pawn in the bitter Space Race that served as one of the proxy battlegrounds for the Cold War. On Nov. 3, 1957, she was sent to space in Sputnik 2 and reportedly died of overheating during the journey. Given that the craft disintegrated as it came back to Earth, she wouldn’t have survived either way, which makes her story all the more tragic.
Fifty-one years after her fatal flight, Laika was commemorated with a statue in the Russian capital.
12. Marjan the Lion Memorial
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Country: Afghanistan
Where it’s located: Kabul Zoo, Kabul
Year erected: 2002
The sad story of Marjan the Lion is one of perseverance even in the face of the unimaginable. The BBC reports that in the early 1990s, an Afghan fighter jumped into the lion’s den at Kabul Zoo, to impress his friends. The encounter ended with the man dying from the mauling he received that same day.
A grief-stricken friend decided to get revenge the following day by cowardly throwing a grenade at Marjan. Miraculously, the lion survived the attack, but it left him crippled and in pain for the rest of his days. His plight caught the attention of the world, and he became a symbol of Afghanistan’s scarred resilience against Taliban rules.
After Marjan passed away in 2002, people from around the world donated $500,000 to rebuild the Kabul Zoo and provide better care for its long-neglected animals.
13. Memorial to Leroy Brown
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Eufaula, Alabama
Year erected: 1980
There are plenty of fish in the sea, but few are like the bass Leroy Brown, who managed to avoid the frying pan by impressing his catcher-turned-owner with his spunky personality.
The man in question, Tom Mann, the eventual owner of Tom Mann’s Fish World, caught Leroy in 1973 and immediately fell in pet love with the bass. If we are to believe Mann, Leroy really was something special — so much so that his owner could easily pick him out from all the other fish in the 38,000-gallon aquarium that housed him.
Eventually, people started coming out to see what the deal was with the fish. Given that he was once featured on the front page of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it’s safe to assume that they left as impressed as his owner had been on their first encounter.
When the fish died in 1980, 800 people attended the funeral. (We are willing to bet this breaks some kind of record for a fish funeral!) But his fame led to someone breaking into Mann’s house and stealing the fish’s body on the night of the funeral. The body was recovered being smuggled at the Tulsa Airport, and Mann commissioned a life-sized marble statue that visitors can still see in Eufaula.
14. Michigan War Dog Memorial
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: South Lyon, Michigan
Year erected: 1946
What makes the Michigan War Dog Memorial stand out is that it is an entire park dedicated solely to dogs who have fought in American wars. Rather than a general monument to war dogs, the park is a collection of memorials and gives individual dogs their own headstones — names and dates of death included.
One of the most prominent memorials is the "Vietnam K9 Memorial Wall," which lists the more than 4,000 dogs who were left behind when the U.S. withdrew its troops, a historical episode that still wrings the hearts of all pet lovers who learn about it.
The park is appropriately nicknamed "the Arlington of dogs," and is one of the most visit-worthy landmarks in South Lyon.
15. Monument in Honor of the Slaughtered Animals
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Country: Poland
Where it’s located: Wroclaw
Year erected: 1997
It’s not every day that a town attempts to apologize to the animals it has slaughtered for food, but Wroclaw, Poland would like to atone for the sins of its past butchers.
Located in the town’s old meat market are various bronze statues that represent the animals that medieval butchers slaughtered and sold every day, including a calf, a goat, a rabbit, a rooster, a goose and two pigs.
While the site has not housed the meat market since the 1700s, and while the residents of the city have continued to consume these animals, the memorial is unique enough to warrant a visit and is applauded by animal rights groups.
16. Monument to Carrier Pigeons
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Country: France
Where it’s located: Lille Zoo, Lille
Year erected: 1936
World War I was the first war to include new inventions like tanks and planes, but both sides also used less advanced technology in their communication efforts and attacks. One such "technology" was carrier pigeons, trained to bring messages back and forth from strategic locations.
Of course, this service made pigeons the target of attacks meant to prevent them from carrying their missions out. In fact, about 20,000 pigeons are estimated to have been killed during the Great War. And while most of us think of pigeons as city nuances, the French city of Lille decided to commemorate their wartime service with a beautiful memorial in Lille Zoo.
17. Monument to the Laboratory Mice
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Country: Russia
Where it’s located: Novosibirsk
Year erected: 2013
Maybe the cutest animal statue, the Monument to the Laboratory Mice is a nod to the immeasurable service that lab mice have done for humanity. The statue depicts a mouse in a lab robe with glasses knitting a double-helix DNA strand — a reference to the role mice have played in breakthroughs in the study of genetics, which have helped us understand the building blocks of our being.
It goes without saying that many of these breakthroughs have helped save countless lives through the development of medicine, so it is only fitting that these mice should get recognition.
Like so many other immortalized animals, they had no choice.
18. Mrs. Chippy Monument
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Country: New Zealand
Where it’s located: Karori Cemetery, Wellington
Year erected: 2004
Mrs. Chippy was a cat that in life went where few other felines have ever gone. This intrepid cat — who despite its name was actually male — accompanied the crew of Ernest Shackleton’s 1915 "Endurance" expedition to Antarctica. He is said to have had a habit of lounging around his owner, Harry McNeish, and probably brought the crew entertainment and cuddles on those long days out at sea.
Unfortunately, Mrs. Chippy had to be put down along with some sled dogs when the expedition took a tragic turn and the crew found themselves trapped in ice. A statue in his memory was erected at McNeish’ grave 99 years after the historic expedition.
19. Mushizuka Monument
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Country: Japan
Where it’s located: Kan’ei-Ji Temple, Tokyo
Year erected: 1821
In the early 19th century, a Japanese aristocrat named Sessai Matsuyama drew a book on the anatomy of insects. To make correct and realistic illustrations and descriptions, he sacrificed many insects.
While the book was an asset to the scientific study of insects, Matsuyama must have felt some guilt, since his dying wish was for a monument to be built for the spirit of the small animals.
The Mushizuka-hi, or Monument for the Insects, can still be visited at the Kan’ei-Ji Temple in Tokyo.
20. Pavlov's Dog Monument
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Country: Russia
Where it's located: Institute of Experimental Medicine, Saint Petersburg
Year erected: 1935
Russian Nobel Prize laureate Ivan Pavlov is a staple of every high school or university psychology class that touches on classical conditioning.
The scientist’s discovery famously happened by chance, when he noticed that the dogs he and his colleagues were studying started to salivate whenever they saw the technician that fed them. A symbolic lightbulb lit on the top of his head, and he realized that we can be conditioned to react to certain stimuli. It's something that now seems obvious, but that was absolutely revolutionary at the time.
The monument, approved by Pavlov himself in 1935, is meant to depict not a specific dog, but all dogs that scientists like Pavlov used in experiments.
21. Sergeant Stubby Salutes Statue
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: AKC Museum of the Dog, New York City, New York
Year erected: 2018
Many dogs have gone to war, but few have reached the level of fame and glory of the lovable Sergeant Stubby, the only recorded dog that was officially ranked sergeant in the U.S. military.
This canine wonder’s military career began when he snuck onto the grounds of Yale University, where the 102nd Infantry Division was training in 1917. Incredibly smart, Stubby imitated the soldier’s drills, famously learning to do a salute by raising his right paw to his head. When the division was sent to Europe to fight, he was smuggled onto the ship, using his salute trick to melt the heart of the commanding officer who discovered him.
In France, the dog was in many battles in the trenches, suffering wounds and serving his troop by warning them of mustard gas and artillery attacks, as well as helping retreat wounded soldiers trapped in no man’s land.
After the war, Sergeant Stubby was treated as a war soldier, invited to the White House and led many parades. When he died in 1926, his skin was mounted over a plaster cast that contains his ashes, which is now displayed at the Smithsonian Museum of American History, dressed in uniform and proudly wearing his medals.
22. Smoky the War Dog Statue
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Cleveland,Ohio
Year erected: 2005
Following the footsteps of Sergeant Stubby, Smoky the War Dog proved loyal and resourceful during World War II. The Yorkshire terrier was found in New Guinea by American soldiers, who then took her on missions.
Her military career had her parachuting from planes and, most famously, helping set up a telegraph wire through pipes. This stunt saved her fellow soldiers from exposing themselves to above-the-ground fire and allowed 40 planes to land safely.
Smoky is also said to have been the first therapy dog, since after the war she dedicated her time to visiting wounded soldiers at the hospital, and helping improve overall morale.
The memorial statue in her honor was modeled after an adorable picture of her inside a soldier’s helmet, with her tongue playfully and contently out.
23. Soldier Bear Statue
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Country: Scotland
Where it’s located: Princess Street Gardens, Edinburgh
Year erected: 2017
By now, you should know that many animals have been used for war, but as far as we know, Wojtek is the only bear to have done so.
Rescued by Polish soldiers from smugglers in the Middle East, Wojtek was officially enlisted into the army so he could accompany his rescuers back to Poland to fight in World War II. Complete with a rank and number, the "Soldier Bear" stayed with the troops, reportedly learning how to drink beer, smoke and carry heavy ammunition.
After the war, he was taken to the Edinburgh Zoo, where he lived the rest of his days. This is how a Polish bear soldier came to have a commemorative statue in a Scottish city.
24. Statue of Balto
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Central Park, New York City, New York
Year erected: 1925
Balto’s heroic feat was so great that this Central Park statue was erected the year he rose to prominence, rather than after his death.
If you’ve never heard of this Siberian Husky, he is famous for having led a dangerous medicine run that saved the Alaskan town of Nome from a diphtheria outbreak. The isolated town could not be reached by train or plane due to the harsh winter, so a team set out to complete the excursion by land.
Balto led the sled dogs that were necessary for the success of the mission, thus becoming an American hero.
25. Statue of Jumbo the Elephant
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Country: Canada
Where it’s located: Saint Thomas, Ontario
Year erected: 1985
Forced to tour with the Barnum and Bailey Circus in the late 1800s, Jumbo was big, even for an elephant, which made him one of the most sought-after stars of the circus.
At the height of his fame, calamity struck one late night, when he was hit by a freight train. His body was then stuffed and taken on tour by money-hungry Barnum, who knew the accident was just more publicity for his act.
Jumbo’s life was short and spent in shackles rather than roaming his natural habitat with his herd, but he made his mark in history by giving us the slang word for "big."
26. The Grave of Miss Baker
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Tranquility Base, Huntsville, Alabama
Year erected: 1984
Another animal caught in the proxy battles of the Cold War, Miss Baker had better luck than most of her counterparts, since she and her companion, Miss Able, were the first primates to return from space alive.
Though the squirrel monkey left the Earth for less than 30 minutes, her 1959 space flight was enough to earn her a permanent place in history books. She also received special treatment at the Naval Aerospace Medical Center in Florida, where she got married twice (her first husband passed away before her).
Her body is now at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.
27. The Possum Monument
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Wausau, Florida
Year erected: 1982
Most people don’t appreciate possums, but that is not a sin the town of Wausau in Florida has ever committed. The town recognizes that possums have been key to its survival during times of economic hardship like the Great Depression, when the animals kept people from starving.
Because of this, the town erected a monument to possums and even calls itself the "Possum Capital of the World." Somewhat ironically, it holds a possum festival every August where they celebrate by eating possum dishes, including the town specialty, possum hash.
28. Toto Canine Movie Star Memorial Marker
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Hollywood, California
Year erected: 2011
Even if you have never seen "The Wizard of Oz," you’ve heard of Toto, Dorothy’s "little dog" that was threatened by the Wicked Witch of the West.
The real Toto, who was a female terrier imaginatively named Terry, lived until 1945 and rested peacefully in her owner’s backyard until the 1950s, when the property was demolished to build a highway.
In the early 2010s, devoted fans of the star dog launched a campaign to get Terry a resting place worthy of one of Hollywood’s most recognizable canines. In 2011, a ceremony where fans sang "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" unveiled a memorial at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. The words inscribed in it remind us that "there’s no place like home."
29. U.S. Military Working Dog Teams National Monument
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Country: United States
Where it’s located: San Antonio, Texas
Year erected: 2013
The only national monument on this list, the San Antonio landmark seeks to honor not just war dogs, but all working dogs that are enlisted into the U.S. Army. The Lackland Air Force Base was chosen as the location because this is where most military dogs are trained alongside their handlers.
The monument features statues of the four breeds most commonly used by the military: German shepherd, labrador retriever, Doberman pinscher, and Belgian malinois.
A large inscription touchingly reads "Guardians of America’s Freedom."
30. Winnipeg the Bear Statue
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Country: Canada
Where it’s located: Assiniboine Park Zoo, Winnipeg
Year erected: 1992
No matter who you are or what year you were born, we can guarantee you have heard of Winnipeg the Bear, or at least the fictional bear she inspired, Winnie-the-Pooh.
In the early 1910s, a Canadian lieutenant named Harry Colebourn bought an orphaned cub bear from the trapper who had killed its mother and named her Winnipeg after his hometown. The pair grew close, and Winnipeg, or Winnie, even accompanied Colebourn to England when he was deployed during the Great War.
However, her owner could not bring her with him to France, so he left her at the London Zoo. This is how Christopher Robin met Winnie, falling in love with the bear and being inspired to name his teddy bear after her, which in turn inspired his father, Alan Alexander Milne, to write Winnie-the-Pooh.
Though she lived the remainder of her life at the London Zoo, the Canadian town after which she was named commissioned a statue of her in 1992.