Street art animals take over London - 26th August 2024

Banksy, a famous graffiti artist, has been creating animal images around London. His art trail started in south-west London with a goat which was standing on a ledge. The next day, he painted two elephants on blank windows in Chelsea.

His followers on social media wondered about the meanings behind his animal images. People on Instagram thought the paintings were about the environment. The elephants could represent the saying "the elephant in the room". In east London, Banksy painted three monkeys hanging from a railway bridge. Some people believe they're a reference to "see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil". Two pelicans painted on day 5 brought crowds of customers to a small fish and chip shop in north-east London.

Like all street art, Banksy's paintings aren't safe from damage. The elephants were vandalized with white stripes, and a wolf on a satellite dish in south London was stolen within an hour of its appearance. A rhino climbing onto a car in south-east London was tagged by a rival artist.

However, people took swift action to protect some of the new pieces. A big cat stretching in the morning sun on an advertising board in north-west London was removed to safety. Swimming piranhas on a City of London police sentry box were also taken for safety.

Banksy's final painting was at London Zoo. It showed a gorilla lifting a shutter to let a seal and birds escape. The zoo removed the artwork to display elsewhere. It was later replaced with a sign saying "Banksy woz 'ere."