Impounded East Hampton Giraffe, Home for the Holidays?

He or she could be yours, if you get your bid in soon! A life-size giraffe sculpture that has been moldering in an East Hampton Village holding pen since it was discovered "grazing" at the edge of the Nature Trail a year and a half ago, will be sold to the highest bidder, the village board agreed Friday.

The giraffe had first appeared in various places in and around Napeague State Park starting in 2012, visible to a discerning giraffe spotter with binoculars or farsighted vision from Cranberry Hole Road. It eventually disappeared from that savannah-like habitat only to reappear in May 2016 chained to a tree near the Huntting Lane entrance to the Nature Trail in East Hampton Village. It is hard to imagine that the giraffe, at nearly 15 feet tall, could be moved about undetected, and yet no one ever admitted to having seen it arrive at the Nature Trail.

The curious story of its arrival and movements on the South Fork stands alongside such other local antics as the overnight greening of Town Pond and the fake submarine conning tower in the sump off Route 114.

Once the giraffe turned up in East Hampton Village, it was considered stolen property, and was relegated to the East Hampton Village Department of Public Works impound yard on Accabonac Road, where it is still unclaimed.

Now a lucky new owner could give it a happy home in time for the December holidays.

The village administrator will accept sealed bids for the giraffe at Village Hall until 2 p.m. on Dec. 12, at which point the winning bid will be announced. Those interested in obtaining the exotic creature, certainly not one native to these shores, have been asked to contact Rebecca Hansen for details and bidding requirements weekdays between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. at 631-324-4140, extension 11.

Whoever gets to take the creature home will be responsible for obtaining whatever town or village permits and variances are required to display it.