Elephants in London parks

The CoExistence elephants have moved from Chelsea, where I saw them recently, to parks around Buckingham Palace in London. They are now in St James Park and Green Park and also Berkeley Square.

They will be here from 14 June until 23 July. As a reminder, the elephants were made in the Nilgiri Hills of southern India where the real elephants coexist with humans. They are made of an invasive plant. The elephants will be sent around the globe, to remind humans that we can coexist with animals.

The 100 elephants are split into several herds, each is a particular group and has an information board about them. I started in St James Park.

The first group is called Natural World Heroes. Members of this herd take their names from real human heroes.

This one is named after David Attenborough -

The second herd in St James Park is named The Crop Raiders. The story tells again how elephants and humans can coexist.

One lone elephant off for a drink!! -

I then went across The Mall to Green Park. Here, most of the elephants are in a long line but separated into different herds.

The Tea Timers represent elephants that coexist with the tea plantations in southern India -

The Batchelor Boys story is written in an informative way -

There are other groups with information boards that I didn't take photos of. I then went onto Berkeley Square. This is in Mayfair, a very upmarket area. The plane trees are some of the oldest in Central London. The square has had some famous residents in the past, such as Winston Churchill, Charles Rolls (Rolls Royce), Harry Selfridge and George Canning to name just a few - read more on Wikipedia. Around the square are luxury car show rooms and exclusive clubs.

The herd with the Bentley showroom behind -

I just hope this parade of elephants gets the message across around the world and that elephants will always coexist with humans. 

Elephants in Spitalfields, London

I recently saw the herd of elephants around the King's Road in Chelsea, London. I then went to see another herd that are situated at Spitalfields. Whereas the Chelsea elephants are made of an invasive plant, the Spitalfields are bronze. And they have a different significance. They represent real orphaned baby elephants that have beaten the odds to survive.

The elephants are located around Spitalfields Market. The market started in 1682 and lasted until the early 1990s. It is now a market with lots of individual arty/crafty type stalls, as well as many food and beverage outlets. Outside the market is used for outdoor artworks.

The Herd of Hope arrived in 2020. 

The herd of 21 elephants were previously located at Marble Arch. They were there from Dec 2019. A mother elephant sat in the middle surrounded by 20 elephant calf sculptures. These were modeled from real orphaned baby elephants currently in the care of Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. This is a project in Kenya that protects elephants. Each sculpture includes the name of the orphaned calf they represent and their sad backstory. 

Now the 21 elephants are scattered around Spitalfields market. I guess this separation is applicable considering the elephants are orphans, but it would be nice to see them in small groups.

This is the matriarch, she represents the mother and family each of the infant elephants lost when they became orphaned. 

And some of the babies -

The elephant herd were created by Gillie and Marc. These artists have two other sculptures at the market. "Dogman and Rabbitgirl with coffee" (2017) represent unity and acceptance. "Gillie and Marc’s autobiographical characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman, have a dream that open hearts and open minds can come together over a warm cup of coffee to promote diversity, love, and acceptance." -

Together Forever on Wheels, (2020). "Dogman and Rabbitwoman are back, but this time they’re on Vespas! The inspiration behind our latest addition was to try and encourage the public to step out of their front doors and fall in love with the world, people and animals in it." (Spitalfields public art)

Soon the Chelsea herd of elephants will be migrating to a new area, so I will have to go and find them in due course. 

Elephants in Chelsea, London

There are currently a herd of Indian elephants on the King's Road in Chelsea, London. So I went to have a look on 29 May 2021.

The project is known as CoExistence. Info from the Herd the news link : "Raising awareness for ‘CoExistence’, the new environmental art campaign from wildlife conservation charity Elephant Family, this extraordinary display of one of the world’s most precious mammals aims to raise funds for conservation projects that enable people and wildlife to live peacefully alongside each other.

From babies and adolescents all the way through to full-grown male tuskers, there is a beautiful story behind these intricate sculptures, made using Lantana camara, a natural plant material that was introduced to Asia where it became a notorious weed; toxic to grazing animals and outcompeting native species leading to a reduction in biodiversity. Over five years, a great amount of skill has gone into their creation, each sculpture inspired by a real, wild elephant that lives alongside their creators.

These masters of their craft are from indigenous communities in India who coexist with these elephants. With great understanding of the forest they share, they show these animals respect and know what to plant, where to walk and how to live within natures laws and rhythms. To find out more about the makers, visit their website here."

The 50 handcrafted life-size elephants are in Chelsea from 17 May to 6 June. A map of the Chelsea migration -

I started with the Royal Avenue herd, where there are 5 elephants -

The biggest herd is just up the King's Road, at Duke of York Square, aka Cadogan Estate. 

A smaller group facing the Saatchi Gallery -

Elephants next to statue of Sir Hans Sloane , the nearby Sloane Square and Sloane Street are named after him.

On Pavilion Road are 2 more elephants -

The rest of the herd are further away in Cadogan Place Garden. This is a private garden for residents only. There are 2 groups of elephants -

The herd will migrate to Green Park, St James’s Park and Berkeley Square and stay there from 14th June to 23rd July.

The sculptures are available for sale, with babies starting at £6,000 to £30,000 for an adult. See more on CoExistence Elephant Shop.

***

There is an unrelated herd of elephants at Spitalfields, which I have also seen.

And in 2010 there was a herd of colourful elephants in London which I saw. 

***

Elephants come to London

Colourful elephants have arrived in central London!!!

Elephant Parade London 2010 is a conservation campaign that shines a multi-coloured spotlight on the urgent crisis faced by the endangered Asian elephant. That is why the streets of London have been invaded by elephants of every colour.

The day after they arrived I headed up to central London to have a look for myself. My first stop was Trafalgar Square, where Tourism Malaysia has its office. I was surprised to see the windows had been whitewashed and assumed they have moved out, but on reading the small notice on the door, it seems they are just renovating.

In total there are over 250 elephants located over central London this summer, and they have all been sponsored.

There are dozens of sponsors, including several from India and Thailand, but sadly none from Malaysia. It is a pity Tourism Malaysia didn’t get involved, especially as their office is just a few metres from a group of elephants. Likewise there are no conservation partners from Malaysia represented, although the Elephant Family does have an Elephant Conservation Unit in Sabah.

Asian elephants are being threatened by extinction, and this huge exhibition is intended to raise support for them. The benefits of the Elephant Parade are donated to the Elephant Family, the largest elephant charity in the world.

See http://www.elephantparadelondon.org/

Elephant outside the Stock Exchange

A kopitiam

© Liz Price
No reproduction without permission