The traveling exhibit of 100 life-sized elephant sculptures known as ‘The Great Elephant Migration’, crafted by Indian artisans over a period of five years has reached New York.

These elephant sculptures were crafted from the lantana weed, and have been created by local tribal artisans from Gudalur in the Nilgiris of Tamil Nadu.

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Supriya Sahu, an IAS officer, has shared a clip on X of the travelling elephant herd. “Look ! Indian Elephants have finally arrived in New York. Titled as the ‘Great Elephant Migration’ a travelling herd of 100 stunning life size elephant sculptures have reached NYC. These elephant sculptures have been made by local tribal artisans from Gudalur in Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu, from the invasive lantana species,” she wrote.

To amplify indigenous knowledge and inspire the human race to share space, the ‘Great Elephant Migration’ was launched as a global fundraising campaigns.

100 elephant sculptures were featured in the exhibition and they will travel across the US to spread the message of coexistence.

“The ‘Great Elephant Migration‘ is travelling around the world spreading the message of coexistence & creating awareness about the need to remove invasives like lantana camara from forests to save wildlife. Each elephant has been created by the Coexistence Collective, a community of 200 indigenous artisans from Bettakurumba, Paniya, Kattunayakan and Soliga communities of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Tamil Nadu. Kudos Dr. Tarsh and Subhas (people behind this) So proud of your work. Way to go”, Surpiya added.

Look ! Indian Elephants have finally arrived in New York. Titled as the ‘Great Elephant Migration’ a travelling herd of 100 stunning life size elephant sculptures have reached NYC. These elephant sculptures have been made by local tribal artisans from Gudalur in Nilgiris, Tamil… pic.twitter.com/AVolGQLDtJ

— Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) September 6, 2024

The campaign is delivered by Elephant Family USA, a charity that works to protect Asian wildlife, and is supported by cultural tastemakers and high-profile names from the worlds of conservation, media and fashion.

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The highlight of the exhibition is that artisans of the  Bettakurumba, Paniya, Kattunayakan and Soliga communities came together to create each life-like sculpture. And every sculpture in the herd is modeled from a real elephant, currently roaming the Nilgiri Hills in Southern India.