The Great Elephant Migration, a public art project featuring 100 life-size elephant sculptures, has concluded its cross-country journey in Beverly Hills, California. The sculptures, crafted by Indigenous artisans of the Coexistence Collective in India from the invasive lantana camara weed, represent real elephants from the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve and the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. The herd traveled 5,000 miles via electric trucks, making stops in Newport, New York, Miami, Houston, Jackson Hole, and Montana, before arriving at Beverly Gardens Park. The artworks are for sale, with prices ranging from $8,000 to $22,000, and sales have exceeded $3 million, with proceeds supporting 22 conservation NGOs.
The project matters because it merges public art with environmental activism, directly addressing habitat restoration by removing an invasive species and converting it into biochar. It also raises significant funds for wildlife conservation and highlights the coexistence between humans and elephants in India. The final location in Beverly Hills is symbolic, as it aligns with the nearby Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing, a vegetated overpass designed to help animals safely cross a major freeway, underscoring the project's broader mission of fostering human-animal harmony.