Margaret River’s most famous oversized resident came to grief over the weekend after squally winds and torrential rains brought down trees across the region.
Affectionately known as “Zyggy”, the sculpture was created by local artist Alan Meyburgh and is a depiction of the 46,000 year old mammal, zygomaturus trilobus.
A series of cold fronts pummeled the South West over the weekend, with high winds and heavy rains continuing into the week.
Department of Fire and Emergency Services issued rolling warnings for the severe weather while accidents kept the rescue teams busy.
The RAC helicopter was called to a fatal crash in Collie on Friday, where an 18 year old male lost his life in a single vehicle accident.
Cape Leeuwin recorded over 28mm of rain and a wind gust of 102km/h while Cape Naturaliste saw gusts of up to 109km/h. In just 4 hours, Witchcliffe residents had over 50mm of rain swamp the town.
At the visitor centre, the prehistoric mammal favoured by selfie-taking tourists was off to “hospital” to be repaired.
MRBTA chief executive officer Pip Close said there had been a large volume of people asking after the giant wombat-like creature.
“The good news is that Zyggy’s cousin survived the storm and is still on display down at Mammoth Cave for all of your immediate selfie-with-a-megafauna needs.”