These Elephant Replicas Made From Lantana Wood, Found In Nilgiris, Are ‘Fantastic’

A group of tribals from Tamil Nadu’s Gadulur are making all the right noises online. Reason – they are making life-size models of elephants from lantana wood that is found in Nilgiris. IAS officer Supriya Sahu shared a video from her recent visit to a remote unit in Gudalur that captures a tribal community making life-size elephant models out of lantana. The video shows a group of people creating beautiful pieces of artwork in a shed-like location. Several elephant models are visible and appear to be in the process of being constructed by the community. One woman is shown carefully measuring and cutting the lantana wood to ensure it fits perfectly, while a man is seen building the body structure of the elephant models.

Along with the video, Supriya Sahu wrote, “Wonderful visit to a remote unit in Gudalur where young tribals are making life-size elephant models out of lantana - an invasive species.” She added, “About 100 tribals are creating magic with their hands. Win-win as it creates local livelihood opportunity & helps in lantana removal.” Watch the video below:

As soon as the video was shared online, social media users flocked to the comments section to react to it. One of the users wrote, “This is such a creative and innovative idea. I hope the enterprise is expanded in scope to include other invasive species and take up ‘invasive to installations’ as a business model. I see a global potential for them, they could even start off with South Asia.”

Another user wrote, “Wow… so much of hidden talents in our country and it’s not possible to bring those magic hands to limelight without the selfless officers like you. Hope these talents go global one day. Digital transformation would be one option I think.”

One more user added, “This is so cool!”

Another inquired: “Brilliant skills! Where can we find more about it?"

Life-size models of elephants, created from lantana, were displayed at Elliot beach in Chennai earlier this year as part of an initiative to promote wildlife conservation and co-existence. Supriya Sahu shared a video on Twitter, stating that the lantana used to make the replicas were removed from the Mudumalai jungles. She wrote, “70 tribals from Mudumalai have worked hard to make these beautiful Elephants from lantana weed-an invasive species that has spread in forests across the country threatening biodiversity.”

The video has amassed over 80 thousand views ever since it was shared online.

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