Giant Crocheted Lions Roar into Branson: Massive Yarn Sculptures Captivate Visitors

Made from almost 36 miles of wool and stretching to 25 feet long each, a trio of crocheted lions are on the prowl outside Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Branson!

You Must Be Lion! 

The massive lions were one of twelve commissioned pieces made especially for the 2012 Olympics in London. The lions cost half a million pounds to make and were single-handedly crocheted by artist Shauna Richardson over eighteen months.

Coining the term Crochetdermy® in 2007, Richardson specializes in creating ultra-realistic crocheted animals.

Over one million people visited these lions on their journey across England for the Olympics, with countless others seeing them from the road. 

Richardson has quite a few other Crochetdermy® pieces at different Ripley’s across the world, including a bear in Newport, Oregon , a gorilla in Orlando , Florida, and a rooster standing on top of a cat, standing on top of a dog, standing on top of a donkey—a tribute to The Bremen Musicians fairy tale!

Bigger in Branson 

Ripley’s crochet cats are larger than life, but Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Branson is no stranger to big things! Whether it’s the giant toilet paper roll containing over one million squares of tissue, a giant lion made from tires, or the world’s largest ball of twine, Branson is home to a myriad of massive exhibits.

‘Big’ even inspired the attraction’s iconic façade. With long fissures and topsy-turvy features, the weirdest building on the Branson Strip pays homage to the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811 and 1812.

Believe It or Not!, these central Mississippi Valley earthquakes were so impactful that church bells rang on the East Coast and caused the Mississippi River to run backwards!

Visit soon to get an up-close look at Branson's newest out-ROAR-geous exhibit!