100 Larger Than Life Indian Elephants Are Migrating Across The U.S. To NYC
Us New Yorkers are used to seeing pigeons and rats on our daily strolls through the city. As for elephants, not so much. However that’s about to change as 100 magnificent Indian elephants are migrating their way to NYC!
Well…sort of!
The elephants aren’t real, of course. Rather it’s a herd of 100 life-size elephant statues. Dubbed The Great Elephant Migration, the installation is “a global fundraising adventure to amplify indigenous knowledge and inspire the human race, to share space,” according to their website.
And the intention of the installation reaches far beyond just wowing viewers.
The Great Elephant Migration is a collaboration between indigenous artisans, contemporary artists, and cultural institutions, that’s set to raise millions of dollars to power human-wildlife coexistence projects and protect migratory animals.
And, just like migratory elephants in real life, the heard of elephant statues are migrating their way across the U.S.–they’re currently taking up residence in Newport, Rhode Island, and will migrate their way to NYC this September where they’ll reside until October.
The elephants were created by 200 indigenous artisans living in Nilgiri Hills, Southern India, where, according to their site, humans and elephants coexist in the densest overlap on the planet.
They were sculpted out of lantana camara, one of the world’s top invasive weeds that threatens the elephants’ habitat.
While us New Yorkers don’t come face-to-face with these massive creatures while we’re out and about, the population of the population of elephants, rhinos, lions and tigers has also doubled over the last 30 years. The Great Elephant Migration is a testament to the belief that humans and nature can thrive alongside one another.
After spending two months in NYC the elephants will pay a visit to our friends over in Miami in December before migrating to Browning, Montana in May and June of 2025. They’ll finally end their journey with our friends in L.A. in July 2025.
You can learn more on their website here.
September – October 2024
Meatpacking District
The post 100 Larger Than Life Indian Elephants Are Migrating Across The U.S. To NYC appeared first on Secret NYC.