St. Francis' Lost Deer

The wolf has lost its companion. 

St. Francis of Assisi, who lived from 1181 to 1226, became the patron saint of animals and the environment. But in Bogotá it seems that crime, poverty and have proved stronger than the Saint's love.

Since 1983, a bronze statue of the saint with outstreched arms blessing a deer and a wolf has stood beside the Church of the Porciúncula on Carrera 11 and Calle 72. The saint is still there. But since one day in early March the deer has been gone, pried off of its base by thieves who most likely sold it as scrap metal.

This is not Bogotá's only animal victim of the scrap sellers. The Monument to Life and Disarmament in Parque Tercer Milenio has lost almost all of its doves.

See Also: The Sad State of Recycling in Bogotá

By Mike Ceaser, of Bogotá Bike Tours