A Herd of Elephants in Green Park

Elephants in Green Park. Whatever next? We see a lot in London! I barely bat an eyelid when I come across Bengali cats being walked on leads by their owners, pirates with peg legs and squawking parrots, inflated Donald Trump balloons boasting an orange perma tan…but this herd of elephant statues really gave me pause for thought.

Elephants in Green Park Come From India

Dozens of elephants, old and young, fit and frail are crafted in the Nilgiri Hills of India out of the weedy, reed like stem, Lantana Camara. This plant poses a threat to wildlife as it is poisonous, so it’s great to seeing it being hacked down and put towards a good cause.

This exhibition is the brain child of Shubhra Nayar and Ruth Ganesh has been facilitated and promoted by HRH Prince Charles and his wife Camilla to draw attention to the elephants fragile co-existence with man. Camilla’s brother Mark Shand ran an elephant charity before his death.

But what got me thinking as I surveyed this woody procession was how we as humans depend on each other.

The Power of the Herd

Think of the solitary human, perhaps a cold and dishevelled homeless person begging on a grimy London pavement, with a paper cup containing a few coins at their feet. Or an elderly man who, after a life time of work, is cast alone on his sofa, slowly dunking digestive biscuits into his tea with daytime television as his only source of company.

Now let us transport our fictitious humans to the convivial atmospheres of outreach shelters, community cafes, tea after church on Sundays or strolling round London on a walking tour, in the background there is chatter, laughter, warmth and friendship and now you can see the power of community.

This exquisite herd of elephants in Green Park reminds us of both the vulnerability of the solitary individual and how our very survival is dependent on our proximity to each other.

If you liked this piece you may want to visit our blog post on Richmond Park where there is plenty of living wildlife.

Sadly, this was a temporary exhibition and the elephants have moved on to new pastures. Some have been sold to adorn people’s gardens and the good news is that these elephants are still available for sale if you have a spare £6k-£30k one of these elephants in Green Park could be yours! Check them out.

You may also want to donate to the Coexistence Elephant charity.

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