Whitehorse is known for his “Effigy Tree” carving, located on the Near East Side at Lakeland and Maple avenues along Lake Monona. He worked with wood, metal, paint and even snow. One of Whitehorse’s staples was making art that people could interact with.

“His philosophy of art was he wanted people to be able to touch it — to be able to interact and enjoy art and not consider it something to put on a pedestal out of reach,” said his wife, Deb Whitehorse. “He made this Badger with that in mind.”

The badger’s back is wide and almost flat, so it will be easy for children, college students and others to climb on the statue and sit on it for photos. The city created a rubber membrane for underneath the statue in case someone slides off of it, Whitehorse said.

“I look forward to maybe on a game day kind of going up there, standing back and watching how people interact with it as they file into the stadium,” Whitehorse said. “I imagine I’ll see people getting their pictures taken with it, kids hugging it, things like that.”

Whitehorse said her husband made the model for the statue about 10 years ago, but only recently was she able to secure a public location for it after working with friends and the city to find it a home.