Banksy rhino artwork in London defaced with graffiti tag | Banksy

One of the nine murals that Banksy had installed in London within a few days was defaced.

On Monday, an image emerged in south-east London showing a rhinoceros apparently climbing onto a beat-up Nissan Micra with a traffic cone on the bonnet. The artist’s Instagram account confirmed it was a work by Bansky.

Later that evening, a man wearing a balaclava and carrying a can of white paint was filmed spray-painting a label as the crowd chanted: “Don’t do that.”

A ninth animal mural outside London Zoo was confirmed as a work by Banksy on Tuesday morning, showing a gorilla seemingly lifting the shutter on which the mural is painted, allowing birds and a seal to escape, while the eyes of other animals lurk in the darkness.

The graffiti on the rhino looks like a dollar sign and a V. Banksy is not universally popular among street artists because of his success with the general public and his use of stencils instead of free painting.

One of the witnesses, Devan Vadukul, told the BBC that a “random youth” “brazenly approached the installation and smeared a graffiti tag on it.”

Vadukul said: “The entire incident took place within less than 30 seconds before he disappeared with another male accomplice further down the street.”

Banksy uploaded stenciled animal images in London for nine consecutive days.

His first work, from August 5, was a goat sitting on a wall. This was followed by silhouettes of elephants, monkeys, a wolf, pelicans and a cat.

On Sunday, Banksy confirmed that he was responsible for painting a school of piranhas on a police station in the City of London.

Barriers were erected around the box and the City of London Corporation announced that the artwork had been moved to a “safe location”.

A spokesman for the company said: “We have moved the artwork to Guildhall Yard to ensure it is appropriately protected and can be safely accessed by the public. A decision on a permanent location for the work will be made in due course.”