The expression "the elephant in the room" is a metaphorical idiom in English for an important or enormous topic, question, or controversial issue that is obvious or that everyone knows about but no one mentions or wants to discuss because it makes at least some of them uncomfortable and is personally, socially, or politically embarrassing, controversial, inflammatory, or dangerous. The metaphorical elephant represents an obvious problem or difficult situation that people do not want to talk about. (Wikipedia)
As election time approaches and people seem completely divided in their convictions, it seems a pretty regular occurrence that we feel as though there's often an elephant in the room. I think that's been the case for several years now, probably for a couple election terms really. While 'elephant in the room' generally has a negative connotation....The Great Elephant Migration is anything but negative. Just the opposite! It's been a while since I've heard much about animal conservation in the news, but the Great Elephant Migration reminded me that this conservation work, that seems to happen behind the scenes, is indeed still going on and in a BIG way!
The Great Elephant Migration aims to support indigenous-led conservation efforts and inspire peaceful human and animal coexistence. Co-existence - there's a concept! In the last 30 years the population of India has doubled to 1.4 billion. Remarkably, the population of elephants, rhinos, lions and tigers has also doubled over this period. They coexist in extraordinary ways, tolerating each other and constantly negotiating space. (https://thegreatelephantmigration.org/pages/about-us)
These enormous, life-like sculptures are made out of lantana camara — a tough, invasive weed that’s been encroaching heavily upon the elephants’ natural forest habitat, pushing the animals onto tea and coffee plantations where they live in much closer proximity to humans. "Lantana has displaced animals across huge areas, because it takes over from herbs and shrubs that are edible for animals," said Tarsh Thekaekara, a wildlife conservationist specializing in human-elephant relations who's connected with the Great Elephant Migration project. "40 to 50% of many parks in India are taken over by Lantana." In order to help 'give back' the elephants land to roam, the lantana is harvested and used in creating these beautiful replicas.
The elephants–each based on a real, wild elephant from the Nilgiri Hills known by name and personality living alongside people in their coffee and tea plantations–were made by members of the Coexistence Collective, a group of 200 Indigenous artisans from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. The herd was produced from the Lantana camara, a toxic, invasive plant overtaking the Indian forest, pushing elephants and other wildlife out and into closer proximity to humans, with greater potential for conflict.
Each of the elephant sculptures can be purchased, with prices ranging from $8,000 for a baby up to $22,000 for a tusker. Ganesh hopes to raise $10 million through their sale, with proceeds benefitting 22 different conservation partners around the world, many of them Indigenous run, many of them focusing on improving human-wildlife coexistence.
The year-long campaign will see 100 magnificent elephants migrate across the United States to share their story with the world. The tour began in Newport RI where we had a chance to see about 1/2 of the herd on the lawn of Salve Regina University. If you think the elephants are impressive in photos, you should see them in person.
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| Even my granddog was impressed! |
The U.S. migration is presented by Art & Newport, founded by Salve Regina alumna Dodie Kazanjian '72, which aims to develop and host a series of city-wide visual arts presentations in Newport. The Rhode Island exhibit began July 4th and ends September 2nd. The rest of the heard can be found at the Breakers mansion, Rough Point, and along Cliff Walk. The herd consists of replicas of real-life elephants personally known to The Coexistence Collective — the community of around 200 artisans in southern India who made them. Conceived a decade ago by The Coexistence Collective together with Elephant Family USA, a nonprofit that helps protect Indian wildlife, the sculptures were first shown in London and India before coming to the U.S. The Great Elephant Migration heads to New York’s meatpacking district this fall, to Miami Beach for Art Week in early December, then on to the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, MT in 2025 where members of the Blackfeet nation are working to restore bison populations. The migration concludes next summer in Los Angeles.
To read more about this cause and the exhibit, use the links below to the resources contained in this story.
https://www.discovernewport.org/blog/post/the-great-elephant-migration/
https://thegreatelephantmigration.org/
https://salve.edu/great-elephant-migration
