In 1995, Gerry Craig, the Curator of the Detroit Zoo's new Wildlife Interpretive Gallery , called and told me that the zoo was planning to hand out a gallery guide. Since more than a million people are expected to visit the gallery each year, recovering a percentage of the brochures would represent significant long-term savings. She wanted a receptacle that would respond with a sound as brochures were deposited in it. The sculpture was fabricated of fiberglass epoxy on a welded steel frame. It is durable enough to withstand the rugged conditions created by the free ranging human primates who visit the Hummingbird Butterfly Garden .
Visitors marvel at the profusion of flowers and five species of free-flying butterflies.
They search the colorful blooms and sculptural fountain for a glimpse of one of a half dozen hummingbirds. Finally, the visitors notice the strange, low whooping sound coming from the direction of the exit. As they approach the exit, they see that the sounds are triggered by others depositing their brochures into the mouth of the officious-looking Brochuri Putinhereicus. Visitors are thus encouraged to relinquish their own brochures. The sculpture has now been in place for several years.