A project more than five years in the making, the statue is a life-sized depiction of the pre-historic mammoth. It was unveiled at IPFW’s birthday party on Sept. 14.

Much of the statue’s realism is due to James Farlow, IPFW’s resident mastodon expert, who spent vacations measuring mastodon skeletons in museums. Under his direction and the sponsorship of Star Financial Bank, Research Casting International of Ontario, Canada, made the statue in its foundry. The mastodon weighs 3,500 pounds, and each leg carries 875 pounds. It measures 11 feet from foot to shoulder and nearly 18 feet from trunk to tail. The statue arrived at IPFW already assembled, and a crane lifted it onto a base with assistance from crews from both Canada and Fort Wayne.

IPFW has videotaped the statue-building process, and a documentary will be created from the footage. A second mastodon statue, made from the same mold used to create IPFW’s statue, was unveiled at the Indiana State Museum in Indianapolis last month.

IPFW students selected the mastodon as the campus mascot in the 1970s. Since that time, IPFW has been honored by such publications as Sports Illustrated for having one of the best mascots in the country.