Elephants in Wyoming—The Great Elephant Migration Is Coming to the National Museum of Wildlife Art!

The National Museum of Wildlife Art of the United States (NMWA) will host The Great Elephant Migration from Saturday, May 17, 2025 until Friday, June 20, 2025. This installation will feature 30 life-size elephants, sculptured from Lantana camara, on the Museum’s Sculpture Trail. Each elephant is a replica of an elephant living in Tamil Nadu, in southern India, sculpted by local Indigenous artisans known as The Real Elephant Collective. This campaign, launched in July 2024 in Newport, RI, began with 100 magnificent Indian elephants migrating across the United States to share their coexistence story with the world. From New York City and Miami to the mountains of Wyoming, the elephants are making their way across the country before ending their journey in Los Angeles, CA, in July.

As the elephants travel the world, they tell the story of Asia’s wild elephants and the Indigenous communities living alongside them, where people and elephants coexist in the densest populations in the world. The use of Lantana camara—a toxic weed that is the second most invasive species in the world—to create the sculptures helps clear it from the forests. In India, the shrub has a stranglehold on about 113,000 square miles—the size of the state of Arizona—of the country’s Protected Areas, which include national parks, sanctuaries, conservation reserves, and community reserves. Where Lantana takes hold, wildlife—like elephants—is pushed out of its forest home and into urban areas, where the chance of human-wildlife conflict is much greater. The Great Elephant Migration supports conservation NGOs around the world who have found ways to live alongside lions, leopards, elephants, and some of the planet’s most vulnerable animals.

Wyoming presents a fitting stop for the elephants, driving home the message of true coexistence and permeability of wild spaces. In the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, humans and wildlife interact and coexist daily. “You have such an array of wildlife where there are genuine coexistence challenges,” says Ruth Ganesh, co-founder and co-creator of The Great Elephant Migration, “so this exhibition about elephants coexisting with humans brings the issue to life.” On the Museum’s Sculpture Trail, the elephants will share space with sculpted bison, bears, coyotes, and more. Designed by award-winning landscape architect Walter Hood, The Sculpture Trail underscores the Museum’s commitment to presenting sculpture within the fabric of Jackson Hole’s incomparable landscape. The ¾ mile Sculpture Trail begins at Bart Walter’s Wapiti Trail and winds up the sage-covered hillside—it is currently home to 39 sculptures and is still growing. In addition to these rendered animals, the trail is home to a vibrant ecosystem of real wildlife, from mule deer and elk to badgers and marmots, the elephants will likely encounter some new creatures on this leg of their journey.

The National Museum of Wildlife Art’s mission is to impart knowledge and generate wonder through art and education. “The Museum is honored to host the elephants on our Sculpture Trail. As the only museum stop on their journey, we are thrilled to welcome them to Wyoming and to celebrate this monumental public art installation,” says NMWA Executive Director Steve Seamons. “You won’t want to miss this awe-inspiring exhibition.”

Elephants have matriarchal structures, with each herd led by an older, experienced female, so it is only natural that The Great Elephant Migration is a women-led conservation effort. Made up of influential women across diverse fields, including environmentalists, philanthropists, writers, and creatives, the Matriarchy is rallying support for human-wildlife coexistence alongside the elephants and will lead the final leg of The Great Elephant Migration to the finishing line of Los Angeles in late June 2025​. Members of the Matriarchy include Cher, Kristin Davis, Dr. Sylvia Earle, Susan Sarandon, Padma Lakshmi, and many more. Local sponsors for The Great Elephant Migration at NMWA include Dorothy Bahna, Lachlan, Leslye, and David Hardie, Karen & Craig Kennedy, and Anne & Michael Moran.

The public is invited to attend a free community celebration on Friday, May 30, 2025, from 5 to 7 p.m. Acclaimed Blackfeet painter and ledger artist Terrance Guardipee will lead a blessing of the elephants. Attendees can enjoy vegetarian samosas from Everest Momo Shack and beverages from Bar-SIP-Bar. A farewell event will also be hosted on the morning of Sunday, June 22, 2025.

The Museum is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Great Elephant Migration is included in the cost of general Museum admission. Advance tickets may be purchased here: https://shop.wildlifeart.org/products/museum-admission.