Completed January 11, 2010, for a friend who had spent years as a volunteer at the National Zoo, monitoring the behavior of Merlin the sloth bear. The claws—a sloth bear’s most notable feature; they use them for digging termites—are made of wool soaked in white glue and wrapped onto wire.

He has a home, but you can write to the Salamander if you’d like to discuss the creation of someone similar for yourself.