A BRONZE sculpture of a polar bear with a figure perched on its back is attracting the attention of visitors to the University Museum of Natural History in Oxford.

The life-size bronze statue, entitled Polar Dance, was created by artist Tessa Campbell Fraser, and was installed on the lawn in front of the Parks Road museum on Wednesday.

Ms Campbell Fraser, who lives near Faringdon with her husband, comedian Rory Bremner, said the 300-kilo bronze sculpture had been on display outside the Natural History Museum in London about four years ago.

She added: “It is symbolic of the relationship between man and the environment, using the polar bear as a classic example because if we don’t get this balance right it could become extinct.”

A spokesman for the museum said: “We hope the sculpture will be here for a couple of months.”

As well as Polar Dance, visitors to the museum can see an art installation of African trees. Angela Palmer’s Ghost Forest features 10 gigantic rainforest tree stumps and is due to remain on show outside the museum until the summer.