Colourful herd of elephants on parade at zoo
AHERD of 26 elephant sculptures has arrived at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm, Wraxall, after travelling all the way from the Netherlands.
The 26 life-sized baby elephant statues have completed their 400mile journey from Amsterdam to Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm.
The delicate cargo was carefully loaded onto two lorries to reach the zoo.
The sculptures are part of Elephant Parade, which combines art, conservation, education and fun.
The herd of decorative elephants will form a trail over 100 acres of the beautiful North Somerset countryside. The trail, which is included in zoo admission, will be open to visitors from July 31 to August 31.
It aims to raise funds for global conservation efforts and local businesses have been offered the chance to sponsor the trail or individual elephants. Money raised from sponsorship will be donated to conservation charities.
So far more than £9,000 has been raised.
Tony Baxter, managing director of Voodoo Designworks, based in South Gloucestershire, said: “When asked if we would like to sponsor an elephant, we jumped at the chance.
“Not only do we feel the work Noah’s Ark is doing to be invaluable, but for Voodoo Designworks to be involved in helping to raise over £9,000 for conservation charities is just amazing.”
The sculptures have been created by local and international artists to raise awareness of the need for global elephant conservation. The 26 elephants visiting Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm this summer have been curated to also support the zoo’s ethos, with conservation, sustainability and inclusive messages shared by each of the designs.
The education team has also involved school-aged children in an Elephant Parade competition.
The top prizes included a free school trip for up to 100 children, elephant adoption packs and limited-edition Top Trumps packs. The competition has engaged over 500 children in conservation issues and designs drawn by the children will be on display in the Elephant House at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm.
René de Wit, managing director of Elephant Parade, said: “After visiting so many great cities around the world, Elephant Parade is thrilled to arrive in Bristol at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm. And we hope our vibrant art pieces will give the visitors – young and old – a reason to smile, meet friends and have a great day.”
Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm is home to African bull elephants and is part of the EEP (European Endangered Species Programme). By housing this species in a male-only group, Noah’s Ark is helping the EEP to achieve its overall goal of creating sustainable genetic populations of the species across European zoos.
Elephant Parade was started by father and son Marc and Mike Spits, who were moved by the story of a seven month-old Asian elephant called Mosha they met in Thailand who had lost her right leg in a landmine accident.