Botanics becomes home for joking Jungle City animals

IT IS usually a calm leafy oasis in the city, ideal for a Sunday afternoon stroll.

But for the next couple of weeks the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE) plays host to hoard of "talking" and campaigning endangered wild animals.

The Jungle City collection of 130 life-size animal sculptures includes more than 50 animals with scripts specially-written by a comedian, describing how they suffer when there is no water or if they lose their homes because humans are encroaching on their habitat.

Former Spice Girl Gerri Halliwell's pink tiger called "Queen of Everything" has a queenly and regal voice while Irish singer Andrea Corr portrays a chatty baby elephant.

Other voices, which can be heard via a 4.50 audio guide, include Dame Rula Lenska as a glamorous and seductive elephant, actress Lynda Bellingham as a nosey hornbill, model Stella Tennant as a shopaholic elephant and Scottish comedian Danny Bhoy as a fitness-obsessed tiger.

The sculptures, decorated by a variety of artists, designers and celebrities including Jack Vettriano, will be at the gardens before being relocated to the streets of Edinburgh on 6 September.

They will then go under the hammer at the National Museum of Scotland on 29 September to raise money for lead charity Elephant Family and five other conservation charities.

Mark Shand, founder and conservationist of the charity, who chose Edinburgh as the first city in the UK to host what is Scotland's biggest outdoor art exhibition, said he hoped to raise more than 1 million when the animals are auctioned.

"The Botanic Garden in Edinburgh is a great place to have an outdoor art exhibition like this because it is like a natural jungle.

"I used to be a travel writer, but then I bought an elephant and got inspired and obsessed with Indian elephants. The Jungle City auction will raise money for our projects which help Asian elephants and the animals who share their habitat."

Mr Shand, brother of the Duchess of Cornwall, added: "It was great fun creating personalities and scripts for some of our sculptures.

"This literally brings the whole exhibition to life and adds a whole new dimension. We have everything from rapping orang-utans to horny hornbills and tetchy old tigers."

Asian elephants are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of endangered species. Huge habitat loss over the past 100 years has led to their numbers falling by 90 per cent.First Minister Alex Salmond said: "It is a tribute to Edinburgh's reputation as a leader in the arts and architecture that the Elephant Family Charity has chosen the city to stage its new exhibition to highlight Scotland's reputation as a leading force for conservation and the arts.

"Work by some the best of Scottish artists and designers will transform Edinburgh into an 'urban jungle' with colourful sculptures filling the streets and the noise of the jungle filling our ears."

HRH Prince of Wales said: "This remarkable initiative aims to help alleviate the crisis facing so many species on our planet today. Your generous support of Jungle City in Edinburgh will quite simply make all the difference so I can only urge you to support this innovative campaign in any way you can."

One of the artists involved, Edinburgh-based Henry Kondracki, said: "Jungle City has been an interesting challenge, translating my works that are usually painted on canvas, on to a 3D surface of a life-size crocodile has been an original and exciting experience."