A popular stuffed polar bear is to go on show at Hull Maritime Museum when it reopens after a six-year, £20.4m renovation next week.
Erik the polar bear was captured in the Arctic in the 1860s by the crew of the Dundee whaling ship SS Erik.
He was on display at the museum for more than 40 years, and is now set to take pride of place in the Age of Sail gallery when the museum reopens on 8 August.
Robin Diaper, curator of social and maritime history, said Erik’s return was significant not just because of his “enduring popularity” but also because “he helps us tell the story of the deep connections between Hull and the Arctic whaling industry.”
Conservation work in 2010 revealed Erik had newspapers from 1874 hidden inside his body.
The museum said this was “a fascinating reminder of the Victorian techniques used to preserve the bear after it was brought back from the Arctic”.