World's Largest Buffalo Skull

Abilene, Texas

Weighing two tons, stretching 26 feet across, the skull was sculpted by Texas artist Joe Barrington in June 2012 from steel salvaged from old Texas oil tanks. For a model, Barrington used the real skull of a 12-year-old buffalo bull loaned by a local restauranteur.

A key criteria of the big skull was that it couldn't have rough edges, so that children could crawl into its eye sockets and slide out of its nose. To that end, the skull was partially buried and set into a slight hill to give it a downhill slope.

The skull is historically significant, as the spot where it sits was a once a buffalo bone yard where bones were piled for rail shipment. Tourists can visit the museum adjacent to the skull and see a real buffalo bone pile.