Mechanical elephant, made out of recycled materials

Remember the good old Trojan Horse episode from historic literature? Well, here’s an elephant that could give it a run for its money, though this one isn’t being used as a war strategy to deceive enemies. This elephant uses recycled materials and was built in France, part of the Machines of the Isle of Nantes art and culture show. Measuring 12 meters high x 8 meters wide, this elephant is mechanical, and is sculpted out of 45 tons of reclaimed wood and steel, inspired by the mechanical elephant in the show, the Sultan’s Elephant. Lovingly and pretty simply christened the Giant Elephant, this one can take 49 passengers at a time, a feat no other elephant has probably tried doing, for a walk lasting a whole 45 minutes.

What powers it up is something we still haven’t hit upon yet. Electric power coupled with the use of a few solar cells stuck on to its body seems to be a great idea. A mechanical safari ride on a recycled animal!

[Inhabitat]