A view looking north east to the War Memorial, the Chateau Laurier Hotel and the locks of the Rideau Canal. This sculpture occupies a prime location of historical and political interest at one of the busiest tourist areas in Ottawa. Sparks street was a prosperous commercial area in old Ottawa which became a showpiece pedestrian shopping mall in the 1960's. In recent years it has lost much of its retail trade because of the retail success of enclosed shopping malls and due to the growing proportion of space on the north side of the street that is dedicated to the federal government as a tenant. To respond to this the sparks street mall has added artworks, many design enhancements and a great deal of custom built street furnishings as a means of enlivening the street - and as a consequence, business. Animals as metaphor are frequent motifs in the public art around the area.