The animal orchestra with the most members is the 12-piece Thai Elephant Orchestra at the Thai Elephant Conservation Centre, Lampang, Thailand. The orchestra was founded by Richard Lair and David Soldier (both USA) in 2000, with the aim of conserving the Asiatic elephant species.
The elephants, aged between 7-18, improvise their own music on a variety of percussion and wind instruments. Their music is now commercially available on their 13-track CD, and a second, Elephonic Rhapsodies, (produced by the Mulatta label) will soon be released.
The animals’ combined weight is approximately 23 tonnes (50,706 lb) which makes them the largest orchestra in every sense!