Passion and Pain

From 'headshops' to the illegal trade in endangered animal products:  the knee-jerk reaction is always to try and hit the supply. 

We should be more concerned about the demand. The suppliers will always be there as along as there is a demand. 

So, maybe it is time to be less sympathetic to those who fuel the suppliers. 

I find it hard to understand why people smoke, sniff or whatever it is they do with their 'bathsalts' or 'plantfood' -  it is their own bodies that suffer the consequences. And of course, when they go nuts, then we the public have to put up with them and find excuses for their behavior. After all, its the 'pc' thing to do in a world where deviant behavior is celebrated.

 It has been some time since I last posted about a subject more dear to my heart. The demand and supply of trading in endangered species. Not because I stopped caring but because I am feeling so helpless and angry that the I just don't know what to say anymore.

Of course my concern is not only about one species. The list of endangered species is too long to mention. For example, according Tigers in Crisis to we are losing the battle to save tigers in the wild.

 

Tigers, elephants, cheetahs, polar bears, pandas, rhinos, gorillas... the list is endless.

So, I will repeat an earlier article I wrote about the subject of ivory trade: 

I need to get this off my chest. I have been upset and angry for some time now and perhaps I just need to write this down and hope that it will help alleviate these feelings. So, please forgive me while I vent and rant about a subject that clouds my mind with passion and pain.

It is no big secret that I absolutely love animals. Doing a wildlife painting, no matter how long it takes, is my way of trying to show that passion. I am smouldering about what is happening in our world where we so easily decide the fate of other species - for no other reason than politics and greed.

Elephants! Magnificent, majestic, powerful and absolutely vulnerable once again. I am not going to list pages of facts about elephants, their family ties, communication, etc. Instead, I will list links at the end of the post about what is happening to these animals and what we humans do so easily to satisfy our greed.

Before I place the links, please take a look at these photographs. 






Beautiful, eh? Useful and ingenious ways to improve the quality of our lives. Ivory.
How can we live without these stunning examples of skill and beauty?

How much does it cost to possess such beauty?

Who are the people who desire these objects of art and beauty?

I wonder if they think of the cost when they run their fingers along the smooth surface and admire the skill and genius of the carver.

Somehow, I don't think the cost is of any concern to them.

It cannot be that they are ignorant of the cost. They just don't care, do they? And, if they don't care about the cost, what is next on their list of items they must have? Demand and supply.

While certain members of the Useless Nimcompoops rub their hands in anticipation of great riches, us poor peasants must appreciate that at least we will still have photographs and paintings to remind us of beautiful beasts that shared this world with us.

We can run our fingers along the smooth surface of the photograph or feel the texture on a painting and wonder at the beauty and glory of elephants, rhino, tigers, cheetahs and an endless list of species we once had.

Unless we make our voices heard.

China Fuels East African Elephant Poaching

 Stop China from Trading Ivory

Wildlife Direct

Elephant Information

Elephant Voices

How the ivory trade funds bloodshed

Warlords turn to ivory trade to fund slaughter of humans

Return of the ivory trade

"European Otter" - oil painting

Oils on canvas (40×40cm)

I worked on this painting, on and off, for almost two years and now I think I am satisfied that it is finished.

This cute little creature is an European Otter and the painting depicts the moment before he slips into the water again. I love the cheeky look on his adorable little face.

ISPCA Otter Sanctuary was opened in May 2007 in County Longford, Ireland due to the declining numbers of otters in Ireland. May their good work be successful!

The European Otter’s diet mainly consists of fish but can also include birds, insects, frogs, crustaceans and sometimes small mammals, including young beavers.

In general this opportunism means they may inhabit any unpolluted body of freshwater, including lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds, as long as there is good supply of food.

European Otters are strongly territorial, living alone for the most part. The territories are only held against members of the same sex, and so those of males and females may overlap.

Males and females will breed at any time of the year, and mating takes place in water. After a gestation period of about 63 days, one to four pups are born, which remain dependent on the mother for a year.

The male plays no direct role in parental care, although the territory of a female with her cubs is usually entirely within that of the male. Hunting mainly takes place at night, while the day is usually spent in the European Otter’s holt (den) – usually a burrow or hollow tree on the riverbank which can sometimes only be entered from under water.

The European Otter declined across its range in the second half of the 20th century primarily due to pollution from pesticides such as organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls .

Other threats included habitat loss and hunting, both legal and illegal European Otter populations are now recovering in many parts of Europe for example in Britain the number of sites with an otter presence increased by 55% between 1994 and 2002.

Recovery is partly due to a ban on the most harmful pesticides that has been in place across Europe since 1979, partly to improvements in water quality leading to increases in prey populations, and partly to direct legal protection under the European Union Habitats Directive and national legislation in several European countries.

In Hong Kong, it is a protected species under Wild Animals Protection Ordinance Cap 170. They are listed as Near Threatened by the 2001 IUCN Red List. (Wikipedia)

"Thirsty Elephants" - Oil Painting

Oils on canvas (20×30 inches)

I have been working on this painting for a very long time (probably more than a year – on and off) and I always found something more to do. (Artist’s dilemma – never knowing when to stop!!!)

But now I think there is nothing more I can do without ‘over-doing’ so this painting is now finished!

Poaching significantly reduced the population of elephants in certain regions during the 20th century. The use of elephant tusks (ivory) is still greedily being sought by stupid and irresponsible humans. During my visit to an elephant sanctuary in South Africa one of the wonderful keepers explained that we no longer have the huge, magnificent ‘tuskers’ as hunters virtually wiped out the gene pool.

"If you could read my mind" - Oil painting

Gorilla Oil Painting on canvas (40×40cm)

When I first saw this gorilla, I was immediately struck by what I perceived to be sadness. He looks so deep in thought and I wondered what this beautiful creature was thinking… of family lost, freedom lost and what we humans do in our endless arrogance and greed to other animals on this planet.

I hope that one day, we will realise that they are just as worthy of life and freedom as we would like to believe ourselves to be.

I love painting eyes. However, what I like about this painting is not being able to see the gorilla’s eyes. His posture tells the story.

Gorillas, the largest of the living primates, are ground-dwelling herbivores that inhabit the forests of Africa. The DNA of gorillas is 98%–99% identical to that of a human, and they are the next closest living relatives to humans after the two chimpanzee species.

Gorilla’s are highly endangered, and have been subject to intense poaching for a long time. Threats to gorilla survival include habitat destruction and the bushmeat trade. In 2004 a population of several hundred gorillas in the Odzala National Park, Republic of Congo was essentially wiped out by the Ebola virus.

A 2006 study published in Science concluded that more than 5,000 gorillas may have died in recent outbreaks of the Ebola virus in central Africa. The researchers indicated that in conjunction with commercial hunting of these apes creates “a recipe for rapid ecological extinction”. (Wikipedia)

My thanks to Rocketchook for his kind permission to use his photograph as reference for this painting!!!

Dolphin Curiosity

Oil painting on canvas of a dolphin (40 x 40 cm)

I have been so fortunate in my life to have seen many, many dolphins – in Table Bay, on the west coast of South Africa as well as off the coast of Robben Island. So, this little painting is for all the dolphins: may we always be blessed to have these wonderful creatures in our oceans. Dolphins are caught by fishermen, slaughtered by trawlers and horribly killed in some far east countries.

Dolphins are considered to be amongst the most intelligent of animals and their often friendly appearance and seemingly playful attitude have made them popular in human culture.

Thank you to Maxime of sxu for giving me permission to use her photo as reference material!!

Wildlife Direct - Saving Endangered Animals

Today I found an incredible website with blog lists that will keep me reading (and break my heart because there is so much ignorance and cruelty in this world) for a very long time.

Wildlife Direct - Saving Endangered Animals

Its times like this that I wish I am very, very rich person so that I could support each and every one of the special people and organisations who do so much for conservation and the protection of animals. The little bit that I can contribute seems so futile but if one out of a thousand of us cared enough to give what we can, it would make such a difference.

I wish all the wonderful people at Wildlife Direct many successes in saving our beautiful and precious animals and habitats.