Cow pies become cobra in Siberian village

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MOSCOW, Jan. 12 (UPI) -- A giant cobra made out of cattle dung was created to entertain children in a Siberian village during the frigid winter months, its 52-year-old sculptor says.

"I made it so the kids could play around and have some fun," said Mikhail Bopposov, a native of the Siberian republic of Yakutia, RIA Novosti reported Friday.

The 880-pound sculpture shows the snake coiled and its hood spread. It's displayed in the village of Yolba, about 125 miles east of the republic's capital, Yakutsk.

Bopposov is the building manager for the village school and gets his art supplies from the 17 head of cattle he raises.

Bopposov began dabbling in dung in 2008, when he created an army tank. He's made something out of the cow pies every winter since, except in 2011, when he and his son made a rabbit out of snow. He found that medium difficult to work because it froze so hard.

This is a temporary installation, however. Come spring, like every spring, Bopposov will recycle his creation into fertilizer for crops.