How many people does it take to lift an elephant? Wooden herd installed near Buckingham Palace

Londoners witnessed the sight of a huge herd of wooden elephants being placed on the road in front of Buckingham Palace on Friday 14 May.

Londoners witnessed the sight of a huge herd of wooden elephants being placed on the road in front of Buckingham Palace on Friday 14 May.

It was the start of the mammoth job of putting 100 of the replica creatures on The Mall, the road leading to the Queen's residence.

The art installation, CoExistence, is touring the world.

The groups behind it, Elephant Family and The Real Elephant Collective, say they hope it will help inspire people to find better ways to co-exist with nature.

Their site coexistence.org says: "CoExistence marks a unique moment in time when a global reduction in human activity is having a positive effect on wildlife around the world.

Brought about by tragic circumstances, this ‘great pause’ – coined the ‘anthropause’ – is helping guide us on how to best share space with animals on our crowded planet.

The elephants are here to tell their story about the inspiring ways we can coexist with all the other living beings that make our world magical – from tigers and orangutans to nightingales and elephants." Elephant Family is an international charity dedicated to protecting elephants.

After time at different sites in London the herd will be moved to the US, where it will 'migrate' from coast to coast.