Elephantastic

For reasons I can't quite pinpoint, I love elephants.  (That might be clear from the "Elephant pianist" videos with Paul Barton I've posted, as well as a few other articles.)  Two charities that I donate to regularly are Boon Lott's Elephant Sanctuary and one of my especially-favorites, the Sheldrick Wildlife Trust.  If you like elephants, as well, I heartily recommend them.

As a result of this, for the past year, I've been paying attention to the Great Elephant Migration.  This is a fascinating project, to bring attention to a conservation effort focusing on co-existence between people and elephants particularly in India.  And what they've been doing is bringing a remarkable "herd" of 100 elephants (full-size, lifelike sculptures, impeccably made from lantana camara, an invasive vegetation that looks sort of bamboo-like, which taken five years to create) to venues around the world.  ​

​There's a wonderful website here that describes the project and all its aspects in great detail.  The site also has several terrific videos about the project, where it's been, the building of the sculptures and more.  I was able to download and embed one of them, which runs about three minutes and may take a few seconds to load.  (For whatever reason, I don't seem able to get the sound to play -- though at about 2:30, the music kicks in, goes away briefly and returns.)

​After traveling the world, starting I believe in 2021, the Great Elephant Migration finally made it to the United States a year ago.  And I would be remiss in adding that the most notable reason I've been following this since hitting American shores is because the last stop of the "migration" here is in...Beverly Hills!! And it's there right now, through August 1.

So,  y'know, like, guess where I went to a couple days ago...

The project is being presented at the Beverly Hills Garden Park, which runs along Santa Monica Blvd., across from the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and the Beverly Hills City Hall.

None of my photos can do it justice, but I took a bunch and did my best.  The elephants themselves are magnificent sculptures, and the presentation, out across the expanse of the park, is moving and effective.

​The core of the park runs for three blocks, though it stretches further.  The herd is set up throughout the grounds to present the sense of the migrating herd.

But before getting there, it just didn't seem right not to include this, the main theme by Henry Mancini to the movie Hatari.  Of course, "The Baby Elephant Walk."  I was going to post this at the end, but then I realized that it might make an even better soundtrack to play as you join the Great Elephant Migration.

And now, on to the safari...