Donor fills the gaping metal porcupine void at the jetport

The Portland International Jetport will be porcupine-less no longer.

The city announced today that June LaCombe has donated a porcupine sculpture by artist Wendy Klemperer to replace one stolen from the airport campus last month.

The previous statue, made of steel and repurposed nails, was donated by William and Mary Louise Hammill, and has gone on to have a lively faux social media presence (see the Tweet above, as well as this previous post).

Authorities have yet to apprehend whoever stole the previous sculpture.

The new one features an adult porcupine and a baby porcupine attached to a block of granite, and will plug into a series of jetport sculptures that also includes a steel wolf and deer.

While the saga of the missing porcupine is not over, the airport’s metal menagerie is complete once again, and travelers can be assured they will no longer be forced to fly into a facility with such a deficiency.

“We are grateful for the generosity of June LaCombe in restoring an important part of an art exhibit that has become a popular welcome to the state of Maine” said Airport Director Paul Bradbury in a statement. “We have been overwhelmed by the interest in the porcupine, and its unfortunate theft.”

Seth Koenig

About Seth Koenig

Seth has nearly a decade of professional journalism experience and writes about the greater Portland region.