London's rhino before the latest vandalism

Rhino horns are a sought for item everywhere, including London, Ontario.

Bertha, the life-sized metal rhino is female, is the work of London artist Tom Benner. His wonderful, metal statue has stood on the lawn in front of the London art gallery for more than two decades. Over the years it has suffered numerous attacks.

Its horn has been ripped off several times; Each time Benner repairs his beloved work. If one looks closely, the repairs are clear.

But this year, at the end of October, vandals took the rhino down, literally. They rocked it until they ripped it free from of its moorings. It has now been removed for repairs.

Benner is again repairing his art work and promises that within weeks it will be returned to its position of pride in front of the art gallery. The London Free Press reports Benner understands people sitting on old Bertha as sort of a rite of passage but he doesn't understand why someone would cross the line to cause deliberate damage:

"For anybody to do something like that is pretty strange."