Back in March, Shae and I managed to get tickets for a behind-the-scenes tour of Thomas Dambo’s studio just outside of Copenhagen, Denmark. He’s the artist who’s built more than 150 troll sculptures around the world and we’ve had a chance to find 50+ of them.
During that tour, he revealed the trolls that were part of what was – at the time – his upcoming new collection. The collection is called Trolls: A Field Study and consists of 12 smaller (than normal) troll sculptures that are a traveling exhibition. They’ll spend a few months in one place, then move elsewhere where they’ll spend another few months, then they’ll move on to the next location, etc.
He shared that the first place that would be getting this new exhibition would be Whipsnade Zoo which is just outside of London. We were excited about this because at the time we were preparing to move to the UK from the US.
The trolls landed at Whipsnade Zoo in June 2025 and we finally had a chance to get to the zoo last week, about a month before they’re due to leave for their next destination.
Arriving At Whipsnade Zoo
We bought our zoo tickets online the day before a) to make things quicker when arriving the next day and b) tickets are a little cheaper online than they are when buying in person.
My parents had visited a few weeks before us and mentioned that they didn’t realize until later in their visit that there was a map showing the locations of the 12 trolls dotted around the zoo. We therefore made sure we picked up a copy when arriving.
As you can see on the map above, there’s an X marking each of the dozen locations of the trolls. Three are marked in yellow which signified that there were additional, complimentary activities that could be done there.
You’ll also notice that there are numbers 1-8 listed on the map next to the names of some of the trolls. That’s part of an additional activity where you can decipher a secret message from the trolls. When visiting the numbered trolls, there’s a block of wood with a symbol on it from the troll alphabet. When you’ve worked out the letter, you enter that anywhere that the number appears in the secret message. For example, when visiting Boge who’s number 2, you’ll write the applicable letter as the second letter of the first word and the fourth letter of the third word.
The map also helpfully provided illustrations of what the trolls look like. We had a couple of times where trolls were near each other and we wouldn’t necessarily have known which was which. It also gave prompts to make additional notes based on questions asked in the leaflet.
The concept of this collection of Thomas Dambo’s trolls is that the trolls are studying human behavior. Seeing as they’re children, they have a mischievous side to them. Seeing as they’re trolls, you have to keep an eye out because they might try to ensnare you.
Finding The Trolls At Whipsnade Zoo
We initially missed the troll next to the entrance/gift shop, but found it shortly afterwards after finding another troll first. There’s no correct order in which you should find the trolls, so we started with the ones closest to us and then worked our way around the zoo counter-clockwise.
Taks
The first troll we found was Taks who was either looking for a human in the distance to catch with his net or he was practicing saluting. I like to think he was saluting us.
Each of the trolls has hair made from a different type of tree; Taks’ hair is made from a yew tree.
Each of Thomas Dambo’s trolls around the world have a metal plate near them. This displays the troll’s name, their creation number and a QR code to find out more about the troll, the collection it’s part of (if applicable) and more of Thomas Dambo’s trolls.
As you can see above, Taks was the 148th troll built by Thomas Dambo and his team.
Hasse
Hasse is one of the most playful of the trolls, standing atop a mound and looking behind through their legs. Their hair is made of corkscrew hazel which might explain the bodily contortions.
Despite neither Shae nor I having corkscrew hazel hair, we figured we’d try to see things from Hasse’s perspective.
I mentioned earlier that some of the trolls have a block of wood with a letter from the troll alphabet on it, which in turn helps you decipher a secret message from the trolls. Hasse was one of the trolls with a letter, so this is what you’re looking for.
Poppy
We then made our way back towards the entrance as we realized we’d missed seeing Poppy. She has a handful of phones as she’s noticed that humans find them very enticing, so she’s hoping that’ll help her net a person.
Her hair is made of white poplar.
Kirse
The ever-playful Kirse was next. It was safe enough to get close to them because their handstand meant they didn’t have a net to catch you with.
Kirse’s hair is made of cherry wood.
Boge
A troll you do need to be careful around is Boge as this beech-haired being is ready to grab hold of you.
This is a case of do as we say, not as we do because Shae and I got too close and got bearhugged by Boge. His face was a little too gleeful for my liking.
Anja
We thankfully managed to free ourselves from Boge’s tight grasp. Undeterred, we continued on our quest to locate all the trolls, finding Anja next. She has hair made of chestnut and some buckets she’s storing rocks in, but which are suspiciously large enough to put humans in too.
Wilde
Wilde was next who has great hair made of corkscrew willow. It initially looked like they were writing notes for their field study.
It turns out that I was their muse and they couldn’t resist drawing a picture of me. I was flattered, other than the slightly large ears.
Birch
Birch was the eighth troll we found. As you might expect, Birch’s hair is made of birch and they’re holding a pole which may or may not be made of birch.
The trolls are meant to be studying humans, but Birch is clearly a rebel. That’s because their pole is being used to measure the height of animals at the zoo instead.
Lilnut
Lilnut who has hazelnut hair was next and is one of the most fun trolls we’ve ever seen based on their design. That’s because they’re balancing on the tip of their big toe on their right foot, but which makes it look like they’re jumping.
Despite the fact that Lilnut was quite overtly trying to catch humans, Shae somehow managed to get herself trapped.
I guess Lilnut must’ve been a little off-balance as I managed to help free Shae from the net.
Bignut
Bignut with horse chestnut hair was next and they were a little more sneaky.
That’s because rather than holding a big net in their hands, their devious method of capture is a trap activated by rope in their hands.
You’d think we’d have learned from our prior escapades that day, but alas not. Shae got a little too close to Bignut’s trap.
Thankfully a kid up by Bignut distracted them enough for me to free Shae from her confines.
Larke
The penultimate troll we found was Larke who was busy trying to work out why humans like throwing so much stuff in these big green containers.
Their hair is made of larch, but it’s probably for the best that you can’t see it because who knows how disgusting it looks after having a trashcan on their head.
Valle
Last but not least was Valle. Studying humans can be an exhausting endeavor, so this walnut-haired troll was busy replenishing their energy.
Animals At Whipsnade Zoo
Our key reason for visiting Whipsnade Zoo was to find Thomas Dambo’s trolls, but we did stop to see some of the animals along the way.
The zoo has quite a few white rhinos that appeared to be in a somewhat decently-sized habitat.
We got a little bit of a surprise just after finding Boge when we spotted a couple of wallabies bounding around outside of an enclosure. It therefore seemed like they have free rein of the zoo.
The zoo appears to have animal experiences that you can pay extra for as some people were enjoying the opportunity to feed the giraffes.
There were a couple of baby/young giraffes resting. One of them looked tired and seemed to be trying to take a nap, but was unsure about what to do about their neck and so they kept maneuvering it in random directions.
Towards the end of our visit we came across the flamingo enclosure.
Flamingos get their pink color from eating shrimp and other foodstuffs that contain carotenoids (such as algae). It was therefore funny to see what flamingos would look like if they had a different diet because the baby flamingos there were gray.
What Next For Trolls: A Field Study?
Thomas Dambo’s Trolls: A Field Study exhibit will be at Whipsnade Zoo through September 22, 2025. Seeing as it’s a traveling exhibit, it’ll then move on to its next location which appears to be the North Carolina Arboretum in Asheville, NC in the US.
According to the arboretum’s website, the trolls will be there from November 15, 2025 through February 17, 2026. If you live in or around North Carolina, it’ll be worth making it to the North Carolina Arboretum so that you can find – and hopefully escape from if necessary – these trolls yourself.
More Of Thomas Dambo’s Trolls
As I mentioned earlier, Shae and I have been fortunate enough to find 50+ of Thomas Dambo’s trolls. In fact, with these 12 it’s probably more like 60+. If you’re interested in the other ones we’ve found over the last seven years, here are all of our posts about Thomas Dambo’s creations, from the US to Singapore to Denmark to Belgium and more.
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