Artist Noppawan Nusansiri designed this colorful elephant to represent fish, a symbol that denotes positive feng shui in Asia. The statue is part of the "Elephant Parade" exhibit currently on display around Hong Kong. 
Beyond malls, the elephants can be found in office buildings, outdoor spaces and hotel lobbies. This one -- "Sunny" by Cristiano Cascelli -- sits in a residential area near Hong Kong's City Plaza. 
"Elephants Never Forget Cookies," by David Harvath and Sun-Min Kim, is a colorful piece anyone with a sweet tooth can appreciate. 
Diane Francis, artist and creative director of the Elephant Parade, designed the prosthetic leg for baby Mosha. She was Marc's inspiration for the urban art project. 
"Hearts in Nature" by Luka Boonkerd Kaewdee captures the strength and delicacy of the elephant. The metallic sculpture sold at auction for HK$250,000 ($32,255), the most any of the elephants fetched. 
"Angel" by Yu Jordy Fu captures the grace of elephants moving in the wild. The sculpture consists of more than 1,000 elephants walking and playing on a "cloud." 
Hong Kong star couple Donnie Yen and Cecilia Wang designed "Shine Bright" with Elephant Parade creative director Diana Francis. It sold at auction for HK$170,000 ($21,933). The money will be donated to the Heep Hong Society, an organization providing training and education to special needs children and their families. 
Artist Turdsak Phiromgrapak's "Star of the Harbor" was inspired by Hong Kong's iconic Star Ferry. This elephant looks like it's ready to take off, possibly at a faster pace than the ferry it's designed after. 
Diane von Furstenberg's "Love is Life" elephant design might not be wearing one of her iconic wrap dresses, but it does embody the designer's love of color and print. 
Hong Kong is a battleground for shark conservation. Sharon Kwok created 'Sharkaphant' to merge the two animals, inspired by her hopes for a sustainable future. Proceeds from this one will be donated to Aqua Meridien.
- "Elephant Parade" features series of colorfully decorated elephant statues
- The elephants are on display throughout Hong Kong
- The statues are auctioned off for charity
- Auction this week in Hong Kong raised $277,398 for the Asia Elephant Foundation
(CNN) -- Designer elephants have invaded Hong Kong's Pacific Place mall, attracting a stampede of photographers and tourists.
The Elephant Parade, created by Marc Spits in 2011, invites artists and celebrities to design and decorate large elephant statues to be displayed in public spaces.
This year's collection includes pieces from fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and local actor Donnie Yen.
The statues were auctioned off on Thursday at Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong.
The auction raised HK$2,150,000 ($277,398) for the herd of 31 elephants.
Proceeds will be donated to the Asia Elephant Foundation, whose conservation efforts range from funding hospitals to lobbying governments.
Idea born from a baby elephant
The idea was born in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
Spits was vacationing in the northern Thai city in 2006 when he met Mosha at an elephant hospital.
The baby elephant had lost her front right leg after stepping on a landmine.
"The hospital said it would like to operate on the elephant and give her a prosthetic leg but didn't have the money for that," says Mike Spits, co-founder of the parade and Marc's son.
The first Elephant Parade was held in Heerlan, Netherlands, in 2011.
Since then, the colorful pachyderms have been auctioned off around the world. The herd arrived in Hong Kong's Pacific Place, City Plaza and Citygate Outlets for the first time in August.
Spits says humans are the biggest threat to elephants.
"The speed of human development, particularly in this part of the world, leads to a fight for space," says Spits. "And the elephant often loses that fight."
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