Hermann Park in Houston is displaying The Great Elephant Migration, an exhibit with 100 life-sized elephant sculptures representing real elephants from India’s Nilgiri region. The sculptures are made using lantana camara, an invasive plant, to help restore natural ecosystems. The exhibit, open to the public until April 30, aims to raise awareness for wildlife conservation. Tarsh Thekaekara, a conservationist, explained, "It removes the toxic, invasive plant from elephant habitats, so it clears up the forest and restores natural ecosystems." Each sculpture is based on a real elephant from southern India, according to ABC13.
The journey of the sculptures to Hermann Park began when local resident Mac Dunwoody saw the herd in Newport, Rhode Island. Impressed by their lifelike appearance, he worked with the Hermann Park Conservancy to bring the installation to Houston. "You walk up and see how real they are. And the level of perfection and effort required to make them," Dunwoody said in an interview with the Houston Chronicle. The project was supported by the Dunwoody Charitable Foundation.
The exhibition features sculptures priced between $8,000 and $26,000, with part of the proceeds benefiting the Hermann Park Conservancy. Kyle Wolfe, the Conservancy's COO, had initial concerns about the logistics but changed his mind after seeing the herd at Art Basel in Miami and texted the park's CEO, "We have to do this," as mentioned by Houston Chronicle. The sculptures, weighing 800-900 pounds each, were transported with detachable wheels and were placed in five days. The display has been well received by the public, including children and patients from the Texas Medical Center. The initiative, created by Ruth Ganesh and Tarsh Thekaekara, has raised over $1.5 million and aims to raise awareness about elephant conservation.
