BANDUNG, INDONESIA - The Indonesian military has removed a statue of a grinning, cartoonlike tiger from outside an army base after it sparked a flood of online mockery.

The tiger is the mascot for the local military but the one at the entrance to the base in Cisewu - which had a broad grin and cuboid head - quickly became a laughing stock after pictures of it were posted online.

Critics said it looked more a like a cartoon character than a fearsome military symbol, and the web was soon flooded with mocking comments and memes of the smiling beast.

"My head hurts trying to suppress my laughter looking at the memes of the Cisewu tiger," said Twitter user Galcit.

With no sign of the furor abating, the military Monday removed the mascot which had stood outside the base on top of a sign for six years. Pictures posted online showed military personnel using hammers and chisels to take it down.

"Tigers should look fierce because they represent bravery and resilience," said local military spokesman Mokhamad Desi Arianto.

"When some people criticized the statue for looking funny, we couldn't ignore it."

He said a new statue of a tiger would be erected in its place.

Web users tweeted "RIP Cisewu tiger" after news emerged of the mascot's demise, with some criticizing the military for overreacting to online jibes.

"I'm so sad that the legendary Cisewu tiger was destroyed, RIP funny tiger," commented Twitter user Blackvels.

(China Daily 03/17/2017 page11)