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A Canadian balloon artist is creating a life-sized rhinoceros to raise awareness of the plight that this iconic mammal faces across Africa, and to raise funds for the Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust.

Sean Rooney, known as the Balloon Maestro, is creating the balloon sculpture in Old Quebec Street mall in the Canadian town of Guelph.

The project is part of the Balloon Rhino Project, which is asking balloon artists around the globe to get involved to help rhinos in Pilanesberg and beyond.

The project’s website shows that balloon artists from Japan, Singapore, the United States, Scotland, Spain and Australia are taking part, while there are also various installations in South Africa.

“This will be the first ever global fundraising effort undertaken by the balloon industry,” the project’s website says.

Rooney’s balloon animal will be 2.5 metres high and 4.5 metres long.

After a five-day installation, the work will be destroyed, either by deflating or popping it, which Rooney says serves as a poignant symbol of the threat of extinction that rhinos face.

Rooney wants to film the destruction of his balloon rhino to show “human stupidity and cruelty in a way that could potentially go viral and bring some attention to this issue.”

You can find out more about the Pilanesberg Wildlife Trust here.

And to keep up with the Ballon Rhino Project, visit the site here

This post is an abridged version of an article by Kate Bueckert for CBC.