The Big Swoop statue has been fenced in after being vandalised just hours after his triumphant unveiling in Garema Place.
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Devastated artist Yanni Pounartzis is reviewing CCTV footage in the hope of tracking down the culprit who sometime during Saturday night or early Sunday morning smashed the big bird's feet as well as the chip he is eating.
"It's such a personal thing for me, it's like they're hitting me," he said.
"It's like they've actually hit me. That's how I feel about it."
Mr Pounartzis patched up the damage but said some long-term precautions such as a permanent fence might be needed.
"Saturday night was incredibly busy. A big wave of people came through. But it was definitely deliberate because they were literally hacking at it," he said.
"I don't know [what they were using] but it was something hard because the beak is cracked. Both feet were chipped and broken away. The chip was smashed."
The statue - which was officially unveiled on Saturday afternoon - was funded by a grant from the City Renewal Authority. A sign has since been put next to the statue reminding passersby that Big Swoop is fragile and not to step on the chip.
Mr Pounartzis said people had taken Big Swoop to their heart immediately and he felt awful that within hours the statue had been damaged.
"I just feel so bad because people are going to see him all caged up and cracked in places," he said.
The chip part of the statue was likely to be replaced with a more robust material such as wood.
"It's just really sad that within 24 hours people are trying to destroy it," the Canberra artist said.
"I can't believe how attached people have become to it. Someone has even made Big Swoop earrings already."
Mr Pounartzis said the vandals needed to be found and prosecuted.
"It's really disheartening," he said.
"I kind of feel people need to know why it's caged up and looks bad."
A City Renewal Authority spokesperson said it was "really disappointed that the Big Swoop sculpture in Garema Place has been damaged".
"We have been thrilled by the Canberra community's outpouring of love for this wonderful new artwork, which is really in the spirit of our renewal approach," the authority said, in a statement.
"The City Renewal Authority is working with the artist, Yanni Pounartzis, to establish how Big Swoop might be repaired. We do not expect the protective safety fence to be a permanent fixture."
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The damage could not have come at a worse time for Mr Pounartzis, whose exhibition of paintings is opening on Thursday night at the Grainger Gallery in Fyshwick.
Big Swoop was still attracting many fans on Thursday.
Liz, who did not want her last name used, said she had come into the city specifically to see Big Swoop and take some photos.
She was appalled that someone had damaged him.
"I don't think doing that gives you any benefit," she said.
Another passerby, Daniel, was also upset, saying Big Swoop, like the real magpies, had quickly become part of the "urban ecosystem" of Garema Place.