The Great Elephant Migration Arrives in Houston’s Hermann Park
On View, Free, and Accessible to the Public April 1–30, 2025
The Project Aims to Raise Millions for Conservation Efforts Around the World
This April, Hermann Park Conservancy, with the support of a lead gift by the Dunwoody Foundation, welcomes The Great Elephant Migration, a stop-you-in-your tracks installation helping the human race share space with the world’s magnificent wildlife by spreading the message of peaceful coexistence.
For the first time in Houston, this herd of 100 life-sized Indian elephant sculptures will be joined with the biggest elephant yet.
This is the fourth stop on their majestic national journey following stops in Newport, Rhode Island, New York City’s Meatpacking District, and Miami Beach. Presented as part of the Conservancy’s Art in the Park initiative, the elephants will be on view for free during park hours
from Tuesday, April 1, through Wednesday, April 30.
This global fundraising adventure benefits Indigenous and community-led conservation efforts—specifically, conservation NGOs supporting remarkable people around the world who have found ways to live alongside lions, leopards, elephants, and some of the planet’s most challenging animals—and inspires peaceful, symbiotic human and animal coexistence.
Each elephant is one-of-a-kind in the 100-strong herd on display, created by The Real Elephant Collective, a community of 200 Indigenous artisans living within India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Southern India. The communities have created the herd by reclaiming an
invasive plant species called Lantana camara that has entangled 300,000 square kilometers of India’s forests and diminished food sources for all herbivores. Using Lantana as material, the collective has recreated every elephant they live alongside—including female cows, male bulls with and without tusks, as well as baby calves—known well by name and personality, in intricately detailed sculptural form.
“The Great Elephant Migration is more than an art installation—it is a call to action and a place to experience joy,” said Cara Lambright, president & CEO of Hermann Park Conservancy. “By bringing this breathtaking global effort to Hermann Park, we are inviting our community to be part of a worldwide movement to protect ecosystems, eradicate invasive species, and inspire change. These are shared values that span continents.”
“Creating these elephants provides financial stability, status, and pride to 200 members of the Soligas, Bettakurumbas, Kattunayakan, and Paniyas communities, who coexist with the real wild elephants the herd is based on. Already, more than half a million dollars has been
generated so far, making it the biggest sustainable indigenous enterprise in India. This effort celebrates their knowledge of the natural world and rewards a remarkable ability to coexist. I thank Hermann Park Conservancy and their lead supporter the Dunwoody Foundation for backing this great effort which also supports coexistence in Houston,” said Ruth Ganesh, cofounder of The Great Elephant Migration.
Park-goers are encouraged to meet the herd and capture photographs of these incredible sculptures. Matt, the biggest tusker, and the majority of the herd will be located within the Park’s newest destination, the Commons, with smaller herds located at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Texas Medical Center. Hermann Park Conservancy, in partnership with the Houston Parks and Recreation Department and Houston Museum of Natural Science, will present a series of engaging activities alongside the installation, to be announced at a later date.
To learn more about The Great Elephant Migration’s conservation mission, visit TheGreatElephantMigration.org, and for details on their upcoming stay in Hermann Park, visit hermannpark.org/elephants.
Photos: V. Sweeten