THOUSAND OAKS : Leo the Lion Returns in Recycled Form

The famed Jungleland lion will roar to life again in Thousand Oaks this month--but in a much clunkier incarnation. While the original Leo was sleek and ferocious--and starred in many a Hollywood film--this new version will be shiny and rough, and made entirely from recycled aluminum cans.

Recyc-Leo, as the sculpture has been dubbed, will be assembled every weekend until the grand opening of the Civic Arts Plaza. When finished, the ecologically correct lion will shimmer in the courtyard outside the theater.

Volunteers can bring aluminum cans to pin on the sculpture every Thursday and Friday between noon and 6 p.m., and every Saturday between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., through Oct. 22.

Sculptor Walt Ingle estimates that it will take 10,000 cans to cover the 23-foot-tall lion. Leo’s empty belly will serve as a recycling bin during the grand opening weekend, as visitors toss cans in the wide-open mouth.

“It’s going to be plug-ugly,” said Planning Commissioner Forrest Frields, who is organizing Recyc-Leo. “It’s going to have all sorts of different colors, the shapes will be somewhat irregular. But it’s a nice project, and a very fitting one.”