Herd of animal puppets treks from Africa to Arctic Circle for climate action

Hundreds of life-size animal puppets have begun a journey from central Africa to the Arctic Circle to raise awareness of the climate crisis.

The project called The Herds will travel to over 20 cities over four months.

It's created by the team behind Little Amal, the giant puppet of a Syrian girl that travelled across the world to draw attention to the refugee crisis.

It kicked off on April 10 at Kinshasa, and will next hit the streets of Dakar in Senegal this Friday. 

Wildebeests, zebras, gorillas, giraffes, and baboons are among hundreds of puppets made using recycled materials.

Around 2,000 artists in each location will be trained to create their own designs based on the prototype set by Cape Town's Ukwanda Puppetry and Designs Art Collective during the duration of the project.

The Herds will put the environmental emergency centre stage, and will encourage the public to get involved in climate activism.

Growing as it moves, The Herds will make its way to Morocco, then into Europe, including London and Paris, before arriving at the Arctic Circle in August.