SIR Roger the elephant may have temporarily packed his trunk as the Life Gallery at Kelvingrove Museum under goes a major revamp, but there is plenty of work going on behind the scenes.

The Evening Times was given a sneak preview of the animals, birds and other objects which will form part of a brand new display to be unveiled next spring.

Glasgow Times:

At the Glasgow Museums Resource Centre (GMRC) in Nitshill, natural history conservator Laurence Simmen rummages in a freezer.

There is the rustle of things being moved about, followed by the click of a lid being opened.

On a bed of wood chippings nestles a small reptile. This is Buddy, a deceased chameleon from Paisley and he's headed for a new home at Kelvingrove.

Buddy is among a colourful menagerie of creatures set to go on display in the Life Gallery in 2016.

The iconic Spitfire which hangs in Kelvingrove will be lowered this month for a routine inspection, setting in motion one of the largest exhibit changes since the building re-opened in 2006.

A fundraising campaign, which aims to generate £10,000 towards the total cost of the redisplay, was launched in July.

Following a public consultation this will include a leopard, wandering albatross, pallas's cat, Arctic terns, and either a llama or alpaca.

Overseeing proceedings is Richard Sutcliffe, research manager for natural sciences at GMRC.

"The public consultation enabled us to find out what kind of things people would like us to put on display, although it depended on what we had available," he says. "We have a big freezer at the resource centre with thousands of animals – some of which have been in there for 20 or 30 years.

"It is exciting because there is so much that we have in store that most of the public never sees. You can view things at Nitshill on one of our regular tours, so while some people will have seen these animals before the vast majority of the public won't."

The animals will be curated by "ecozone" with one devoted to the Serengeti migration in Africa. It will feature a cheetah alongside zebra, Cape buffalo and wildebeest.

An Australasia-themed display will showcase marsupials, including a koala, wombat, wallabies and kangaroos as well as egg-laying mammals such as duck-billed platypus.

Antarctica will be home to a wandering albatross: the museum's existing specimen is in a sitting position, the new one will have its colossal wing span extended in flight.

The Indo-Malay zone, meanwhile, will see Sam the tiger from the former Calderpark Zoo in Glasgow make his first return to the Life Gallery since the early 1980s.

Buddy the chameleon will be part of a new display highlighting wildlife conservation alongside a red-eared terrapin and baboon skull confiscated by HM Customs and Excise at Glasgow Airport.

"People often think that conservation issues are something which relate to foreign countries," explains Richard. "The message we are trying to bring home to people is that it matters here too."

He and conservator Laurence provide a tour of one of the vast storage pods at GMRC.

The door swings open and I peer inside. Ahead lies rows of packed shelves. It is like stepping aboard Noah's ark – except rather than simply two of everything there is five, 10, 20 or more.

Rounding the corner I give a little gasp of surprise as I see a polar bear. Nearby is a walrus the size of a small car. There are tigers, a leopard seal, an emu, zebras and penguins.

Over the coming months, the GMRC team will continue to work on the Life Gallery project putting the finishing touches to the items going on display.

Richard admits for some areas they have been spoiled for choice, while others have proved trickier.

"There are things simply no longer fit to display because they are either faded or damaged which, when they are 100 years old, isn't surprising," he says.

"They won't be thrown away and can continue to be viewed at Nitshill. People often want to see a particular species or take DNA samples, so they are still scientifically important."

Fans of Sir Roger the elephant, who has been at Kelvingrove since 1902, need not fret: he will have pride of place when the redisplay is unveiled next spring.

"We will be telling his story again – but in a slightly different way," says Richard. "I think people will be surprised at some of the objects going on display and generally not too disappointed about those leaving as there will still be plenty of old favourites."

The Life Gallery at Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum is now closed to the public and will re-open in spring 2016. Donations to the redesign can be made via designated donation boxes located at the West Court, online at glasgowlife.org.uk/support-us or by texting WEST COURT to 70300 to give £3. These can be made until January 29, 2016.