A herd of 100+ elephants have migrated from Chelsea to Green Park, St. James’s Park and Berkeley Square!
The CoExistence herd first arrived in London on the 15th May – as the beginning of their 13,000-mile migration around the world.
The elephants crossing The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace was a show stopper!!!
The CoExistence elephants arrived at a unique moment in time – when a global reduction in human activity has had a positive effect on wildlife. A few months into ‘anthropuase’, photos of wildlife roaming urban streets around the world went viral. Here in the UK, goats wandered through Llandudno as herds of fallow deer grazed the lawns of housing estates in East London. On the streets of Haifa, Israel, wild boar snuffles and foraged for food while river dolphin jumped in Istanbul’s Bosphorus where huge tankers, cargo ships and passenger boats previously criss-crossed.
In our locked down world these stories showed us that the moment we lighten our footprint, wildlife flourishes and in doing so, transforms the health of the planet for all. It also showed us that the wild world, with all its creativity and colour, is not locked away in some faraway nature reserve, but right here at the edges of our urban existences, waiting for the door to open.
As the elephants make their way around the globe, they will tell the story of our crowded planet, the effect of human encroachment on wild spaces and the inspiring ways we can coexist with all the other living beings that make our world magical.
Elephants may be giants but they tread softly. This 100-strong herd reminds us that when we lighten our footprint, wildlife bounces back.
Animals and nature are just around the corner, waiting to share space, if we let them.
The elephants were in Chelsea and have since migrated to Green Park, St James’s Park and Berkeley Square. They are there from 14th June to 23rd July.
May’s comment: This CoExistence exhibition existence marked the occasion of the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) scheduled in May, which planned to negotiate a new global framework to safeguard all life on earth.
There are places in the world, where people and elephants have always been living together in ways that are unimaginable to most of us. It’s an ancient relationship, that’s being challenged and negotiated everyday.
In India it is common to see these magnificent creatures in back gardens, migrating through tea and coffee plantations and crossing roads.
These Lantana elephants call on people to live well with nature around them. Can we increase our coexistence? Nature is intelligent and adapting. Other life forms will meet our efforts halfway, if only we give them the chance.
This exhibition was conceptualised by Elephant Family and a creative collaboration with The Real Elephant Collective.
Over the last five years this symbolic herd of 100+ elephants was recreated deep in the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India, by the indigenous communities.
These life-size creations have been modelled on real wild elephants who live alongside them.
The sculptures are made from, lantana camara, an invasive plant that is choking 30% of India’s reserves. Removal from protected areas benefits wildlife.
Elephant Family works to protect Asia’s magnificent wildlife in the most joyful and engaging way possible.
The biggest challenge facing the world’s wildlife is lack of space. Asia is uniquely placed to demonstrate how the overlap between the human and wild world is possible. Here, species such as tigers, leopards and elephants share lands with people living in the highest density populations in the world – up to 450 people per km2 compared to just 90 in conservation hubs such as Kenya.
Since our inception in 2003, Elephant Family has registered a presence in the UK, USA and India, and powered 150+ projects across India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Sumatra and Borneo. These projects have reconnected forest fragments, restored migratory routes, stamped out illegal trades and found ways for humans and wild animals to successfully live closer together than ever before.
The Real Elephant is a not for profit, socio-environmental enterprise for everything elephant. Keeping the Elephant alive on the ground and in people’s minds.
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