The paint is dry on Banksy's animal-themed street art that appeared across London over 9 days

LONDON (AP) — On the 10th day, after creating the mountain goat, elephants, pelicans, a rhinoceros and a gorilla, among other animals, Banksy rested.

The elusive street artist's menagerie that appeared around London over nine consecutive days apparently came to a conclusion after a final mural surprised staff who arrived early to feed the animals Tuesday at the London Zoo.

There was nothing new posted Wednesday on the artist's website or his Instagram page, where his avid fans typically learn of his recent work. Those who live close enough often rush out to view it and snap photos — sometimes before it can be snapped up.

The zoo mural depicting a gorilla lifting up the entrance gate as birds took flight, a sea lion waddled away and three sets of eyes peered out from the darkness inside, was the last in the series, the BBC reported. A spokesperson for Banksy did not return multiple messages by The Associated Press.

Fans of the artist, whose real identity is not known, continued to debate the meanings of the paintings online. Some suggested the animals represented people and that the murals spoke to the Israel-Palestinian war. Others said they referred to the recent riots in Britain blamed on the far-right.

Banksy, who has been known to advocate for human and animal rights, could have been suggesting the creatures needed to be liberated from incarceration, some said. Others suggested more innocent whimsy: the final painting was the big reveal of where all those other animals came from.

Jasper Tordoff, the Banksy expert at MyArtBroker, said there had been a theory as the number of animals multiplied successively from one to two to three in the first works that the artist was creating a Noah's Ark theme that mirrored his previous religious satire. But that theory seemed shot when the fourth work was a lone wolf that “came out of nowhere,” he said.

Banksy's art is often pointedly political and Tordoff said these recent murals, created using stencils and spray paint, are clever but simple works that are meant to be fun. The artist's company told the Observer that the series was meant to bring some joy during a period of dark news.

But Tordoff said Banksy may be making a commentary on human nature and the desire for possessions as at least one of the works has been stolen and others moved to preserve them.

"We’re in this pantomime of Banksy. We’re part of this installation in a way," Tordoff said. “Banksy undoubtedly knew that all of this would be covered with photographs and CCTV about what the public reaction is, and that might be part of it, because that’s been just as entertaining in my view.”

Here's a look at the nine works that were mostly painted as silhouettes:

— Aug. 5: A mountain goat perched on a narrow building buttress and looking down as crumbling rocks appear to fall in west London.

— Aug. 6: Two elephants painted on boarded-up windows on the side of a rowhouse in Chelsea face each other and reach out with their trunks. Followers on Instagram suggest they are the proverbial “elephants in the room” — that can't be missed but no one wants to discuss them.

— Aug. 7: Three monkeys swing and hang on the side of a railway bridge in east London. Some fans say they represent the “see no, hear no, speak no evil” wise monkeys from ancient Japan.

— Aug. 8: A lone howling wolf on a satellite dish breaks up what had appeared to be an ascending sequence of animals. The dish art had a short shelf life as masked men showed up with a ladder and climbed up on the roof above a storefront in south London, removed it and ran away.

— Aug. 9: Two pelicans were painted perched on the sign for a fish and chip shop in northeast London. One of the birds has its beak pointed upward and is catching a fish in its big mouth while the second one appears to be snapping up a fish that is part of the sign. The owners of the shop, which is closed until September, said on Instagram that it was “over the moon” Banksy decorated their shop. “Contrary to some beliefs, we didn’t ask him to do this, but are very grateful he did!" Bonners Fish Bar wrote.

— Aug. 10: A big cat stretches out on a dilapidated plywood billboard in north London. Crowds that had gathered to see it booed as contractors arrived to remove it for security reasons.

— Aug. 11: The windows of a small police guard post were painted with a circling school of piranhas so that it appeared to look like a fish tank. This is the only work in the series painted in color. The sentry box near the Old Bailey criminal courthouse was taken to City of London corporate offices to protect it, a spokesperson said. It will eventually be placed where it can be viewed by the public.

— Aug. 12: A rhinoceros painted on a brick wall appeared to be mounting a small Nissan car parked in front of it on the sidewalk. The rhino was later tagged with graffiti and the car was removed.

— Aug. 13: The zoo mural was discovered early Tuesday, said Dan Simmonds, animal operations manager at the zoo. “I’ve worked here for about 20 years, and this definitely wins the prize for my most surprising arrival at work,” he said. “A massive surprise for me. But indeed for all of London, indeed all of the world.” A day later, cyclists and runners stopped to snap selfies and photos of the painting that was behind barriers, protected by an acrylic shield and overseen by three security guards.

A cyclist takes a photo while passing a mural by the elusive street artist Banksy at the entrance to the London Zoo, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. The elusive street artist's recent works that appeared all over London on nine consecutive days apparently came to a conclusion after a final mural surprised staff who arrived early Tuesday to feed the animals at the London Zoo. (AP Photo/Brian Melley)

People remove a new artwork by Banksy, depicting a howling wolf painted on a satellite dish that was placed on a shop roof in Peckham, south London, Thursday Aug. 8, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

Contractors begin to dismantle a billboard with the new Banksy artwork depicting a stretching cat in Cricklewood, north-west London, Saturday, August 10, 2024. (Jordan Reynolds/PA via AP)

A covered-face person removes a new artwork by Banksy, depicting a howling wolf painted on a satellite dish that was placed on a shop roof in Peckham, south London, Thursday Aug. 8, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)

A man takes a selfie by a new design of swimming fish by Banksy, which appeared on a police box in the City of London is cordoned off, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (Emily Pennink/PA via AP)

A new design of swimming fish by Banksy, which appeared on a police box in the City of London is cordoned off, in London, Monday Aug. 12, 2024. (Emily Pennink/PA via AP)

A mural by the elusive street artist Banksy is seen at the entrance to the London Zoo, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Brian Melley)

A man photographs a new artwork unveiled by Banksy, depicting a rhinoceros which looks as though it is climbing on top of a car, the eighth artwork in his animal-themed collection, on Westmoor Street in Charlton, south east London, Monday, Aug. 12, 2024. (Lucy North/PA via AP)

A man snaps a selfie with a mural by the elusive street artist Banksy at the entrance to the London Zoo, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. The elusive street artist's recent works that appeared all over London on nine consecutive days apparently came to a conclusion after a final mural surprised staff who arrived early Tuesday to feed the animals at the London Zoo. (AP Photo/Brian Melley)

A woman photographs a mural by the elusive street artist Banksy at the entrance to the London Zoo, Wednesday, Aug. 14, 2024. The elusive street artist's recent works that appeared all over London on nine consecutive days apparently came to a conclusion after a final mural surprised staff who arrived early Tuesday to feed the animals at the London Zoo. (AP Photo/Brian Melley)

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel memorial prize in economics was awarded Monday to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson for research that explains why societies with poor rule of law and exploitative institutions do not generate sustainable growth.

The three economists “have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for a country’s prosperity,” the Nobel committee of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said at the announcement in Stockholm.

Acemoglu and Johnson work at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Robinson conducts his research at the University of Chicago.

“Reducing the vast differences in income between countries is one of our time’s greatest challenges. The laureates have demonstrated the importance of societal institutions for achieving this,” Jakob Svensson, Chair of the Committee for the Prize in Economic Sciences, said.

He said their research has provided "a much deeper understanding of the root causes of why countries fail or succeed.”

Reached by the academy in Athens, Greece, where he is due to speak at a conference, the Turkish-born Acemoglu, 57, said he was surprised and shocked by the award.

“You never expect something like this," he said.

Acemoglu said the research honored by the prize underscores the value of democratic institutions.

“I think broadly speaking the work that we have done favors democracy,” he said in a telephone call with the Nobel committee and reporters in Stockholm.

But he added that “democracy is not a panacea. Introducing democracy is very hard. When you introduce elections, that sometimes creates conflict.”

Asked about how economic growth in countries like China fits into the theories, Acemoglu said that "my perspective is generally that these authoritarian regimes, for a variety of reasons, are going to have a harder time ... in achieving ... long-term sustainable innovation outcomes.”

Acemoglu and Robinson wrote the 2012 bestseller “Why Nations Fail: The Origins of Power, Prosperity, and Poverty,’’ which argued that manmade problems were responsible for keeping countries poor.

In their work, the winners looked, for instance, at the city of Nogales, which straddles the U.S.-Mexico border.

Despite sharing the same geography, climate, many of the same ancestors and a common culture, life is very different on either side of the border. In Nogales, Arizona, to the north, residents are relatively well-off and live long lives; most children graduate from high school. To the south, in Mexico’s Nogales, Sonora, “residents here are in general considerably poorer. ... Organized crime makes starting and running companies risky. Corrupt politicians are difficult to remove, even if the chances of this have improved since Mexico democratized, just over 20 years ago," the Nobel committee wrote.

The difference, the economists found, is a U.S. system that protects property rights and gives citizens a say in their government.

Acemoglu expressed worry Monday that democratic institutions in the United States and Europe were losing support from the population. “Democracies particularly underperform when the population thinks they underdeliver," he said. “This is a time when democracies are going through a rough patch. … It is, in some sense, quite crucial that they reclaim the high ground of better governance."

The economics prize is formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. The central bank established it in 1968 as a memorial to Nobel, the 19th-century Swedish businessman and chemist who invented dynamite and established the five Nobel Prizes.

Though Nobel purists stress that the economics prize is technically not a Nobel Prize, it is always presented together with the others on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel's death in 1896.

Nobel honors were announced last week in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and peace.

Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands.

Journalists listen when Jan Teorell of the Nobel assembly announces the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Academy of Sciences permanent secretary Hans Ellegren, center, Jakob Svensson, left, and Jan Teorell, of the Nobel assembly announce the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Academy of Sciences permanent secretary Hans Ellegren, center, Jakob Svensson, left, and Jan Teorell, of the Nobel assembly announce the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

FILE - Daron Acemoglu of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology smiles in this image taken on June 22, 2019 in Kiel, Germany, as he and Simon Johnson and James A. Robinson won the Nobel prize in economics for research into reasons why some countries succeed and others fail. (Frank Molter, dpa via AP, File)

The Nobel memorial prize in economics awarded to Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson, seen on screen, during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

Academy of Sciences permanent secretary Hans Ellegren, center, Jakob Svensson, left, and Jan Teorell, of the Nobel assembly announce the Nobel memorial prize in economics winners, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson and James A Robinson, seen on screen, during a press meeting at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Stockholm, Sweden, Monday Oct. 14, 2024. (Christine Olsson/TT News Agency via AP)

FILE - A close-up view of a Nobel Prize medal at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

The Nobel economics prize is being announced in Sweden

The Nobel economics prize is being announced in Sweden

FILE - A bust of Alfred Nobel on display following a press conference at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, on Monday, Oct. 3, 2022. (Henrik Montgomery/TT News Agency via AP, File)