2010 England & Greece

London

There were 258 baby elephant statues all over the city through July.  From The London Insider: “The Elephant Parade Project aims to raise £2 million to help conservation work and to raise awareness of the threat of extinction to Asian elephants. The situation is serious and has reached a critical point in recent years. There are three subspecies of Asian elephant; the Indian, Sumatran, and Sri Lankan, of which all are classed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. According to the World Wildlife Fund’s report, it was estimated in 2003 that only 41,000-52,000 elephants roam wild in the tropical forests of Asia. Human settlement, increasing infrastructure, illegal poaching for ivory, and aggressive agricultural activity are the biggest threats to this mysterious species. With the loss of their habitat, they lose their traditional migratory routes and the source of food as well. Therefore, conflicts between the animals and villagers are frequent, and many times is the death of both humans and elephants.” www.london-insider.co.uk/2010/06/baby-asian-elephants-statues-parade-london/#ixzz0rHYjjlsO