Bureaucrat shares video of Tamil Nadu tribals making elephant model out of lantana weed

To raise public awareness about the need to protect wildlife, replicas of elephants were installed at Edward Elliot’s Beach in Chennai. The replicas are made from Lantana camara, an invasive weed that has been shown to inhibit the growth of other trees and plants in forests. Indian Administrative Officer Supriya Sahu shared a video of the same on Twitter. The IAS officer told in the clip that these replicas were inspired by the real elephants of Mudumalai National Park.

“70 tribals from Mudumalai have worked hard to create these beautiful elephants from lantana weed – an invasive species that is threatening biodiversity in forests across the country. And have removed other offensive #TNForest,” she wrote in the caption of the video. Ms. Sahu also says that an expert group guided the tribals to help them make the replicas.

Mudumalai’s 70 tribals have worked hard to create these beautiful elephants from lantana weed—an invasive species that has spread through forests across the country, threatening biodiversity. In Tamil Nadu we have removed Lantana, Prosopis and other invasives from 1200 hectares so far #TNForestpic.twitter.com/NEHcw7fETp

– Supriya Sahu IAS (@supriyasahuias) January 14, 2023

The video has got one lakh views and more than two thousand likes so far.

“Three Cheers. Develop a museum to preserve their art work and establish a school to promote this art among the youth. Being a leader, you can do everything to improve the income of these tribals. Will take possible steps so that they feel that their construction work is recognised,” said one user.

Another person said, “Fantastic workmanship ma’am. It’s superb. Its magnificence must be maintained. They have mastered the art of turning waste into wealth. Kudos to them.”

Another person commented, “This is amazing, a great initiative and a big salute to everyone involved.”

“Proud of Mudhumalai, congratulations to the department!” another user commented.

Many even called it an “incredible creation”.

Another person said, “The message is loud and clear, we are all responsible for making our planet better and more sustainable together. Love these bio elephants.”

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