Our World

In 2007 an organization to Save the Asian Elephant began to hold art exhibits of fiberglass elephant sculptures decorated by artists and celebrities. The first of these was held in Rotterdam and over the following years in Milan, Copenhagen, Amsterdam and London. At the conclusion of the indoor/outdoor exhibitions there is an auction of the elephants to raise funds for Asian Elephant conservation.

The Singapore Elephant Parade happened, most fortuitously, to coincide with our holiday trip. There were over 160 decorated elephants at locations all over Singapore. The local organizing committee, in keeping with Singapore’s renown for organization, produced a great guide that allowed us to find nearly all of the elephants in over twenty different locations. Some were however located at the Singapore Zoo which we missed as we no longer visit any zoos.

Below are some images of the elephants that we found most attractive and interesting. It was sometimes a challenge to take the photographs without including all the people who wanted to pose with them. One afternoon Singapore was inundated by monsoon like rains, but we still managed to get our photos. Some of the elephants may appear to be sweating but it is just the rain.

The event will conclude by January 14th with three days of “invitation only” auctions. It would be expected that a lot of money is going to be raised as the degree of wealth in Singapore is extremely high. The highest auction price at the last event in Copenhagen was $30,000 USD so assuredly the Singaporeans will be out to top that amount. With the world population of Asian Elephants at less than 50,000 there is a critical need for conservation efforts.