Herd community? Elephants show us how to coexist
- 4 years ago
A herd of life-size model elephants will be paraded through central London on Saturday to trumpet the idea that humans and wild animals can share space in this crowded world.
The 125 elephants, brought to London by the conservation group Elephant Family, are the work of indigenous people who live alongside real beasts in southern India's Nilgiri Hills.
The organisers hope to highlight the need for coexistence with wild animals after lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down human activity and helped some threatened species to recover.
It's a matter of mutual survival, said Ruth Ganesh, Elephant Family's principal trustee.
"Saving them is really about saving ourselves," she told Reuters.
Following the parade in the Mall, the model elephants will be displayed in London parks - guarded by ex-Gurkhas - and be on sale for 30,000 pounds ($42,000) each to raise funds.
Elephant Family will use the money raised for conservation activities, such as planting crops for elephants to eat on the edges of farmland to distract them from food grown for humans.
It is also working with WildEast, a charity trying to return English farmland to its wild state to help reverse declines in bird populations.
Source: Reuters
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