Origami elephants galore at Whipsnade in world record attempt

More than 30,000 origami elephants were created to draw attention to the need for conservation.

At the final count, 33,764 origami elephants had been made and displayed by zoo visitors, staff and supporters from around the world.

Although the previous record stood at just 1,500 origami elephants, the zoo wanted to display 30,000 hand crafted elephants to represent every Asian elephant that is left in the wild.

It took experts from the British Origami Society six hours to count the paper creations, some of which had been sent in from as far afield as Japan, Australia and the USA.

Zoo project co-ordinator Jordan Christmas said: “It is so brilliant that we hit our target and managed to make over 30,000 origami elephants, with some to spare. We hoped this would draw people’s attention to the plight of endangered species like Asian elephants, and the vital need for conservation work that helps protect them.

“We were overwhelmed by the response, not only by our amazing Whipsnade Zoo visitors and staff, but also by people all over the world who cared enough about the cause to join in and send us their paper elephants. Hopefully this has raised awareness and shown people that conservation is something everyone can get involved with.”

Guinness World Records are currently reviewing the video of the experts counting the paper elephants and the zoo looks forward to holding the new official record soon.