If you drove by the iconic Fort Worth Zoo before TCU’s Spring Break, you may have noticed something missing. The 40-foot iguana sculpture named “Iggy” that sits above the Zoo Animal Hospital had been taken down temporarily.

“After years of rain, snow, ice, extreme heat and a little hail damage, it’s time to give Iggy a much-deserved makeover,” Ramona Bass, chair for the Fort Worth Zoo, said.

Bass said in a press release that Iggy is now a fun and unique part of the Fort Worth community. She hopes he will be around for years to come.

Zoo officials said that a team of artists and engineers worked to restore his frame and give him a new weather-resistant topcoat to withstand the Texas hail and heat.

Iggy was created by Bob “Daddy-O” Wade and spend years on the Lone Star Cafe in New York for years before being placed on a farm in Virginia and then back to Pier 25 in New York. Iggy was then purchased by Wade’s friend and Fort Worth local Lee M. Bass, who is also the Fort Worth Zoo board chair’s husband.

When the zoo started construction in 2007 on the Museum of Living Art (MOLA) Bass suggested to his wife, Ramona, that Iggy be displayed to merge art with reptiles.

For decades, at the Fort Worth Zoo Iggy has enraptured the Fort Worth Community with his fun “outfits” often matching what is going on in the city. Iggy is often caught wearing a cowboy hat during the Fort Worth Stock Show and Rodeo, TCU gear during football season, a witch costume for Halloween or even matching most of the world in 2020 with his mask during the pandemic.

Zoo officials said that Iggy will be back sometime this year and there will be updates on their Instagram. Next time you drive by the zoo, look closely, because everyone’s favorite Iguana will be back soon.

For a press release from the zoo, visit FortWorthZoo.org.