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Only time will tell if recent vandalism of a fiberglass Hokie Bird statue is an isolated incident -- or if the birds will become an endangered species when Blacksburg's population more than doubles a month from now.

But regardless of whether the incident signals a random act or are a sign of a larger problem of violence against Hokie Birds, Hiker Hokie will not go into hiding.

He's only 5 feet tall and about 120 pounds, but he's not one to be intimidated. Of course, he won't be returning to the scene of the crimes -- the head of the Huckleberry Trail near the library.

He's not stupid, either.

Janet Johnson, chairwoman of the Blacksburg Partnership's Gobble de Art project, said a new location for the bird hasn't been chosen, but it will be a more visible location in the hopes that it will prevent similar vandalism.

A Blacksburg police officer jogging on the Huckleberry early Saturday morning noticed the bird had been removed from its concrete slab. The statues are attached to the slabs with metal screws that go into their feet and metal plates. A large orange toe remained behind where the statue had been broken.

It was recovered a few hundred yards down the trail. The damage is minor enough that Fred Linkous, a mechanic at Gary Hodge Trucking, a Blacksburg dumptruck company, is repairing the bird free of labor costs. Linkous said the materials will only cost about $175 and he's already about halfway done.

The statues are painted by local artists and sponsored by businesses. They began popping up around town in the spring and the last ones should be on display by the second week of August, Johnson said. Some 60 statues will remain in public through October and then be auctioned off. The project is designed to raise money for the partnership, a nonprofit community group.

The statues are insured and can be purchased for $7,500 or sponsored by local businesses to display over the summer and early fall for $2,500.

Hiker Hokie is one of 40 on display. It was given a hiking stick and painted with shoulder straps and tail feathers to honor William A. Caldwell, a student who hiked from Craig County to Blacksburg in 1872 and given a scholarship to attend the new Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College. This was the second act of vandalism against Hiker Hokie, whose hiking stick was stolen in June, less than a week after it went on display.

Martha Dillard, the Craig County artist who painted the bird, will touch up the toes after it's repaired. She suggested putting it in the fenced-off parking lot next to the Blacksburg Police Station where the squad cars are parked.

"It's a funny feeling, it's like somebody hit you," she said of hearing about the vandalism. "It's just a horrible, empty, feeling."

With about 26,000 students set to begin fall classes at Virginia Tech a month from now, swelling the town's population to about 40,000, there will be plenty more people who could potentially vandalize the birds.

Not to mention the thousands more, some fans of rival colleges, who will come into town for Virginia Tech's six home football games in September and October.

Johnson said the police department knows where all the birds will be located and will try to be extra vigilant about protecting the birds, but she understands officers have other priorities and vandalism is a hard crime to follow up on.

As far as additional security during football weekends, Johnson said that is a possibility but it hasn't been discussed.

She said a similar project in Athens, Ga., a larger college town, saw only one Georgia Bulldog statue vandalized out of the 125 on display. Similarly, a project in Lexington, Ky., saw only a couple of acts of vandalism.

Johnson said the feedback she's received about the statues has been very positive, and Dillard said reaction to the vandalism has been equally strong.

"Everybody is very unhappy about this," Dillard said. "Maybe it'll be good for the rest of them."