Elephants in New York City?

One hundred elephants are hanging out in small herds throughout the Meatpacking district of New York City.

The Great Elephant Migration: a journey for coexistence is "a mission to raise funds for non-profit conservation organizations and to foster awareness about the challenges wildlife face. Don asked "who picks up their poop?" as I wondered "how can they possibly find enough to eat on the streets of Manhattan?" 

All jokes aside, wild animals are struggling to repopulate as humans are filling more of their spaces. Locally we see it with the deer and fox populations. In Australia, Andrew sees it with wild kangaroos and koala bears.

These elephants are made out of lantana camara, the second most widespread invasive species in the world. The sculptures are made by 200 indigenous artists. Each one is based on a real elephant, and has a plaque describing its model.

They are only on display through October 20, 2024, after that they migrate to Miami, Florida, then Browning, Montana, before finishing in Los Angeles, California. Individual elephants are on sale.

Here are some of the dozens of pictures we took. We enjoyed the juxtaposition of wild animals in the urban environment.

Upside down map

Quite rainy -- hard to keep the lens dry

The little ones were so cute!
Very tempting to take one home.

Real wildlife in NYC

When Don first told me about the migration, I really didn't think we'd see it. After all, we don't go to this part of Manhattan very often. Then a friend invited us to her daughter's engagement party giving us the perfect excuse to play tourists for the day.

Thank you Helen for the invitation and for including us in your celebration! Mazel tov!