In 2008, the Survival Tour herded 13 life-sized topiary elephants to unlikely green spaces across the UK and Ireland, attracting thousands of visitors and generating valuable funds and press coverage.
Elephants born in Clonakilty Cowshed
The spectacular herd was created by the talented topiary artist, Joseph Kyte of Tennessee, who toiled for three solid months in a remote wintery cowshed in West Cork, Ireland. Joe constructed the elephant frames free hand by bending recycled steel rebar made from old car parts.The artist community of Clonakilty rallied round and with elephant-sized hearts, helped to clad the elephants in green topiary and donated endless of hours to our cause. We love you Clonakilty!
Asian Elephants on Tour
Habitat loss is threatening the existence of the wild Asian elephant. As forests are cut down, their numbers plummet. The Asian elephant, a keystone species, is at an all time low. Economic booms, political apathy, intensive development of wild areas and widespread poverty are responsible for the loss of thousands of hectare of prime elephant habitat. Their range, which once stretched from the far corners of China, through Thailand, Indonesia, India and right across Syria has been reduced to some 170,000 square miles - less than the size of Spain.
In response to this urgent situation The Survival Tour was born. This creative, high-profile conservation initative involved herds of life-size topiary elephants, prestigious public locations, unique partnerships between like-minded conservation charities and headline hitting media campaigns. The Survival Tour captured the imagination of the public and ultimately led us Elephant Parade, our most brilliant fundraising and awareness campaign to date.Through The Survival Tour and Elephant Parade we aim to raise in excess of £50m for the single, most effective solution; elephant corridors.
The Survival Tour 2008
Click on the thumbnails to see a larger image
