Elephant Parade arrives in London to help endangered Asian Elephant

The Elephant Parade has arrived on the streets of London with the aim of raising £2 million that will help conserve the Asian elephant, a species that has dwindled in numbers by 90 per cent in the past 100 years.

The beautiful glass fibre sculptures, which have been decorated by different artists and celebrities, can be seen all around the city, from Hyde Park and Soho to the Albert Memorial and Trafalgar Square.

At the turn of the last century there were an estimated 300,000 elephants living in Thailand. By 1960 this figure had dropped to about 40,000. Today, a mere 1,500 elephants live in the wild, with about 3,000 more kept in captivity. Worldwide there remain between 40,000 and 50,000 Asian elephants, of which 16,000 live in captivity.There are fears that the animals will be extinct in 30 years.

The first Elephant Parade was organised in Rotterdam, the Netherlands between September 1 and November 17  2007. An auction of the models follows each city parade, with the London auction due to take place at Sotheby’s in July.

Mark Shand, founding trustee of the Elephant Family charity, which will benefit from proceeds of the sale, said: “Elephant Parade is a fantastically innovative and effective fundraising and public awareness campaign for the endangered Asian elephant. We urge anyone with a passion for conservation, art, education, community and creativity to support this campaign. Elephant Parade is a completely green project which is guaranteed to put a smile on everyone’s faces and brighten and beautify each city it graces.”

“Nature’s great masterpiece, an elephant; the only harmless great thing.” John Donne, Progress of the Soul XXXIX