Initiative to save Indian Elephants - London

London, Monday, May 27:

Two life-size Indian elephants statues have been installed in Sloane Street, London to flag the launch of the awareness program and the initiative to save India elephants. A charity - 'Elephant Family' founded by Mark Shand, the well known travel writer and conservationist collaborated with another London charity Habitat Humanity for the Animal Ark programme with a noble motive to raise funds that would be used to save Indian elephants.

Shand said that "the two beautiful floral elephants" in the Sloane Street of London indicated the huge "Animal Ark" that they are going to build the coming year - 2014. As a part of the Animal Ark program they will bring in 100 pairs of distinctive species of animals and each of them will be auctioned to raise the funds for protecting the endangered Asian elephants.

"We have cleared the Nilgiri corridor and are now moving to a smaller corridor in Assam. In India, a person kills an elephant and vice versa every single day now as the traditional migratory routes are blocked leading to conflict... Our project with Habitat for Humanity involves building homes for people to clear these corridors. It is a win-win situation for everybody...", said Shand. Over 2013 and 2014, the activities of Elephant Family and Habitat for Humanity include raising awareness about Indian elephants and helping communities to resettle beyond the danger area. Most interestingly the program also includes restoring the paths that have been in use by the Asian elephants for migration for millions of years.

One of the sponsors of the initiative Viscount Chelsea, chair of Cadogan Estates Limited said, "to see these life-size elephants decked out with flowers by (florists) Wild At Heart on an iconic fashion street of London like Sloane Street is a first".