Auctioneer Rex Gully with the stuffed African elephant. Picture by Laura Holme.
A STUFFED African elephant has sold for more than six times its guide price this afternoon (Thursday).
The large elephant smashed its £1,000 guide price, selling for £6,400 to a major south coast antiques dealer.
Spirited bidding at the Hose Rhodes Dickson Auction Rooms in Brading pushed the price up in £200 increments.
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own an elephant sent the telephones and website into a frenzy with bids coming in from all around the country.
Auctioneer Rex Gully said: "It was amazing, it exceeded all our expectations.
"It really did cause a storm. We are, however, quite sad to see him go."
The elephant is thought to be around 100 years old and, due to his enormous proportions, had to be craned into the auction rooms last month.
For around 50 years the elephant formed part of a museum of taxidermy at Brading waxworks, which closed its doors in 2010.
Since then many of the creatures which inhabited Animal World have been sold off, but at three metres long and standing two metres high, the elephant remained caged until demolition work started on the building.
Since the County Press first reported the auction last month, the story has appeared on news websites around the world.
Reporter: martinn@iwcpmail.co.uk