Giant animal puppets launch 20,000-km trip to raise climate awareness

Life-sized lion and antelope puppets took their first steps at the London launch of a new public art project that will see them embarking on a 20,000-kilometre (12,400 miles) trek from central Africa to northern Europe, symbolically fleeing from the effects of climate change.
“The Herds” is the latest project from the team behind “Little Amal”, a giant puppet of a Syrian girl that toured the world to highlight the plight of refugee children.
Next year, the animal puppets will travel from the Congo Basin to northern Norway, with their herd expanding along the way.
“The idea is that a group of animals starts fleeing because of climate change and as they go from city to city, they will add more native species, more endemic species and the herd grows and grows,” artistic director Amir Nizar Zuabi said.
Organisers plan to engage local communities in stopover towns and cities and provide them with training and resources.