They say an elephant never forgets. And it’s very likely that those who see the upcoming Great Elephant Migrantion installation in Hermann Park won’t forget it. One hundred life-sized Indian elephant sculptures will be on view from April 1-30.
The majority of the herd will take up residence in Hermann Park’s newest destination, the Commons. Smaller herds will be located at the Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Texas Medical Center. The installation is open daily during park hours and is free to view.
Houstonians also get a chance to see the newest — and biggest — member of the herd. His name is Matt, a real life Kenyan elephant who stood 10-feet tall and weighed more than six tons. As one of Kenya’s largest tuskers, he was closely monitored by Save the Elephants. Matt was fitted with a GPS collar in 2002, revealing groundbreaking insights into elephant migration. Over his 52 years, Matt roamed farther than any other tracked elephant in Kenya, covering hundreds of kilometers. Matt died of natural causes in 2019, leaving behind a legacy that continues to inform conservation efforts.
The exhibit is part of Hermann Park Conservancy’s Art in the Park Initiative. This is the fourth U.S. stop for the installation, which was previously seen in Newport, Rhode Island, New York City, and Miami Beach. The Great Elephant Migration is a women-led conservation effort, reflecting the matriarchal structures that elephants uphold in the wild. CBS Sunday Morning profiled the exhibition last year.
Each elephant is one-of-a-kind. The pachyderms were created by The Real Elephant Collective, a community of 200 Indigenous artisans living within India’s Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in southern India. The herd is made from reclaimed Lantana camara, an invasive plant species that has entangled 300,000 square kilometers of India's forests and diminished food sources for all herbivores. The Great Elephant Migration is designed to spread a message of peaceful coexistence between humans and wildlife.
“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 and 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.”
Parkgoers will see every elephant the artists live alongside, from female cows, male bulls (with and without tusks), and baby calves. They’ll also be part of a global awareness campaign. In addition to the pride and financial stability provided to the 200 members of theSoligas, Bettakurumbas, Kattunayakan, and Paniyas communities who created and coexist with the real wild elephants the herd is based on, the exhibit has raised more than half a million dollars.
While the installation is on display, 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 designed to help people learn more about these incredible creatures. The activities will be announced soon.
Following their stop in Houston, the elephants will continue their migration west, with stops in the Blackfeet Nation; Buffalo Pastures in Browning, Montana; Jackson Hole, Wyoming; and Los Angeles.
Photo by Corey Favino, Courtesy Elephant Family USA and Newport Restoration Foundation
The Great Elephant Migration is coming to Hermann Park in April.
