In Kinshasa’s Botanical Garden, cardboard animal figures—monkeys, a gorilla, leopards, and a giraffe—stood poised in a clearing. Guided by puppeteers dressed in black, they began to move, slowly at first, then breaking into a run through the trees.

This marked the launch of The Herds, a traveling theatrical performance featuring life-sized puppet animals fleeing from the Democratic Republic of Congo to the Arctic Circle. The project aims to spotlight the urgent issue of climate change.

The performance began this week in Kinshasa, where the fictional migration story follows animals forced from their habitats due to global warming. Along the route north, the herd will grow as more puppet animals join them, stopping in major cities to engage the public.

A stark reminder of the crisis played out nearby—floodwaters from recent heavy rains submerged parts of the botanical garden, part of a deadly flood that disrupted half the city and claimed dozens of lives. The flooding forced the cancellation of Friday’s central event in Kinshasa and reinforced the show’s message with real-life consequences.

The Herds is produced by the same creative team behind The Walk—a 2021 global performance featuring a 12-foot puppet of a refugee girl, Little Amal, who journeyed across 15 countries to raise awareness of the refugee crisis.

Tshoper Kabambi, a Congolese filmmaker and the local producer for The Herds, said the performance is intended to highlight humanity’s impact on nature.

“Nature is vital to us, but people often overlook it,” Kabambi said. “We want to make people aware of what’s happening—global warming, floods, deforestation.”

After Kinshasa, the production will travel to Lagos, Nigeria, and Dakar, Senegal, as it makes its way toward the Arctic.

Organizers chose to start in the Congo because the country is home to the Congo Basin—the world’s second-largest rainforest and one of Earth’s key carbon sinks, alongside the Amazon. Yet the Congo’s rainforest often receives far less international attention.

Congolese artists played a major role in the opening performance, with artists from other regions set to join as the journey progresses northward.

Amir Nizar Zuabi, artistic director of The Herds and a key figure behind The Walk, emphasized the project’s international reach.

“One of the most powerful aspects of this project is that it spans 20 cities,” Zuabi said. “It travels through different cultures and communities, and its message grows stronger. Even in Norway, people will hear Congo’s story—because we have partners everywhere.”