Ever wonder if Babe is male? He is. Also, on November 24, just days after we stopped here, his head fell off. The wood structure inside rotted and the head fell off. This is the AP story, published and redistributed right here:

Giant Statue Of 'Babe The Blue Ox' Loses Head KLAMATH, Calif. (AP) -- Babe the Blue Ox has lost his head. Ax-wielding Paul Bunyan is not a suspect.

The head fell off the 35-foot-tall statue of giant lumberjack Bunyan's mythical sidekick Tuesday, landing snout down on the pavement in the northern California town of Klamath.

Jeff LaForest, manager of the gift shop where the statue stands, says water was seeping inside the statue. That weakened the wood inside the structure and caused the collapse.

LaForest said he will repair Babe as soon as possible. In the meantime, he plans to use a diminutive stuffed animal head as a placeholder in time for the town's annual Christmas light show.

"It's kind of sad isn't it?" LaForest said.

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