Chelsea’s majestic elephants – #herdthenews
From 17 May – 6 June, a herd of fifty life-size elephants are migrating across Chelsea. A magnificent addition to the area’s reopening celebrations, the CoExistence herd are here to tell the story of our crowded planet, the effect of human encroachment on wild spaces and the inspiring ways we can coexist with the other living beings with whom we share our world.
CoExistence is a public campaign brought to you by Elephant Family, with the Chelsea migration of elephants organised and supported by Cadogan.
The herd can be spotted at various locations across the neighbourhood – Duke of York Square, King’s Road (at junction with Royal Avenue), Pavilion Road and Sloane Street (Cadogan Place North Garden) – until the 6 June. The elephants are displayed in groups as they would naturally congregate in the wild.
The herd started life in the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India, where they were created by the tribal communities who live alongside their real-life counterparts in complete harmony. This area is home to a quarter of a million people and 150 magnificent wild elephants who roam a matrix of human dominated landscapes. Here people and elephants coexist in denser populations than anywhere else on earth. Their story, and that of the indigenous farming communities who have learned to successfully live alongside them, is a beacon of hope for our increasingly crowded world.
Each elephant sculpture is unique, modelled on a real-life elephant. The sculptures have been masterfully crafted from Lantana camara, a plant introduced to Asia where it has become a notorious weed; toxic to grazing animals and outcompeting native species leading to a reduction in biodiversity.
For further information on the Chelsea migration please see www.dukeofyorksquare.com and for more about CoExistence please click here