Sad Farewell to Rhinos on the Brink of Extinction

 

The passing of Sudan is a sobering reminder of the many other endangered species that we must do more to protect. Don't let chimpanzees be next, help us to protect chimps and their habitat here: https://janegoodall.ca/ways-to-give/give-once/ … Photo By: Ami Vitale, National Geographic Creative


"The Last Three" Bids a Sad Farewell to Rhinos on the Brink of Extinction


There were three northern white rhinos left when Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner unveiled their monument in New York City. Now there are just two.

March 28, 2018
Patrick Rogers

facebook twitter Scroll to the top


Courtesy Gillie and Marc Schattner

The trio of animals look like they have fallen from the sky, landing one on top of the other in a crowded square in New York City. Standing at the bottom is Sudan, a northern white rhinoceros who until recently lived at a nature reserve in Kenya. On top of him, turned upside down, is Najin, a slightly smaller figure of a female rhino who happens to be Sudan’s daughter. And on top of her upturned legs sits Fatu, the youngest and smallest of the trio. She is Najin’s daughter and Sudan’s granddaughter.

The Last Three, an installation created by Australian artists Gillie and Marc Schattner, is a poignant portrait of an actual animal family and a species that will soon disappear from the face of the earth. The bronze rhinos are accurate in every detail, including the rough, wrinkled skin, although they are slightly larger than the real ones, Gillie says. Together, the three effigies form a tower of tribute―but equally important, they serve as a call to action, since the northern white rhinos of east and central Africa have been hunted to the brink of extinction. Their horns—touted to have medicinal powers—are considered to be among the most expensive substances on the planet, traded for more than the price of gold or cocaine in the markets of China and Vietnam. In fact, the protein that makes up rhino horn has no more potency than human fingernails.

And now there are two. While Gillie and Marc (who sign their works with their first names only) were unveiling their monumental rhino pyramid in New York on March 15, 45-year-old Sudan was taking his final breaths in Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The trio of animals lived under a team of devoted caretakers and 24-hour armed guard to protect them from poachers. When Sudan’s age-related medical conditions grew significantly worse, veterinarians decided to euthanize him. In a last-ditch attempt to save the species, the trio had been transferred from a zoo in the Czech Republic in 2009, but efforts to breed the rhinos had failed. Sudan had a low sperm count, perhaps as a result of his advanced age, and Najin and Fatu both proved to have fertility issues that made reproduction impossible.
With no living male and two infertile females, the northern white rhino species (or subspecies, depending on which scientist you talk to) has come to the end of its road. (Najin and Fatu will remain at Ol Pejeta.) “The fact of the matter is that we’ve taken our eye off the ball and allowed this to happen, so the blood is on all of our hands,” Marc says. With the sculpture’s position in Astor Place, one of New York’s busiest hubs, he hopes it will raise awareness of the rhinos’ plight and encourage the city’s residents and tourists to sign an online petition demanding an end to the illegal trade in rhino horn. It’s a crisis that has also brought Sudan’s cousins to the brink of extinction, Marc adds. “The eastern black rhinos are next. They are down to only about 2,000 and their numbers are dwindling. Before we know it, we’ll have no rhinos at all.”

The husband-and-wife artists knew when they took on the project last year ago that they were fighting the clock. They spent a week at the Kenyan conservancy observing the rhinos at close range, especially the elderly Sudan, who was the most approachable of the three, Gillie says. “We studied them every day. We photographed their skin, faces, bodies. We watched them move. We watched them breathe. We touched them.” She says Sudan had the gentle manner of a friendly dog, while the younger females required more caution.

Back in Sydney, where they live, the Schattners molded clay models of the three animals, which were then cast at a foundry in Thailand and packed into two shipping containers for the voyage to the United States. The artists hope that as many as five million people in New York will see the statue before it travels to Melbourne, Australia, later this year. “Marc and I believe it’s never been more critical to connect people to nature so that we’re visibly confronted with what we’re doing to the planet,” Gillie says. “That’s why it was so important to bring the northern white rhinos to New York.”

The Last Three by Marc and Gillie is currently on display in New York City’s East Village; no closing date has been announced.

onEarth provides reporting and analysis about environmental science, policy, and culture. All opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies or positions of NRDC. Learn more or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

 

  Source: https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/last-three-bids-sad-farewell-rhinos-brink-extinction

Brown bears, wolves and lynx numbers rising in Europe

Land-sharing model of conservation is helping large predators thrive in the wild – and even the British countryside could support big carnivores, study finds

Wolves in snow, Norway. Revival of wild predators is largely due to changing attitudes to wildlife and EU’s successful conservation strategies. Photograph: Fred van Wijk/Alamy

Patrick Barkham

@patrick_barkham

Thursday 18 December 2014

 

The forests – and suburbs – of Europe are echoing with the growls, howls and silent padding of large predators according to a new study which shows that brown bears, wolves and lynx are thriving on a crowded continent.

Despite fears that large carnivores are doomed to extinction because of rising human populations and overconsumption, a study published in Science has found that large predator populations are stable or rising in Europe.
Brown bear, wolf, the Eurasian lynx and wolverine are found in nearl




Link: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/dec/18/brown-bears-wolves-and-lynx-numbers-rising-in-europe

Sudan, The World’s Last Male Northern White Rhino Is Very Sick

  

 

Sudan, The World’s Last Male Northern White Rhino Is Very Sick

 http://protectallwildlifeblog.com/2018/03/05/sudan-the-worlds-last-male-northern-white-rhino-is-very-sick/ …

The Hollow Men: What the end of the world looks like...

 
What the end of the world looks like:

The Hollow Men

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

by T. S. Eliot Written 1925




LikeAGirlProductions‏ @likeagirlinc


 

JFK flights were delayed because of turtles taking over the runway

https://youtu.be/xO3zuK84ox4

The turtles have ben crossing the airport since 2011 to gt to sand marsh breeding grounds...

Turtles Delay Flights At JFK Airport With Mating Ritual

by Jen Chung in News on Jul 8, 2017 12:01 pm

 

Diamond terrapins love the JFK Airport runways. Tens of thousands of terrapins live in Jamaica Bay.

This is the time of year some of them wind up on the runway at Kennedy Airport.

They make their way out of Jamaica Bay in search of place to lay their eggs.

The sandy area of the outskirts of the runway right next to the water has proven a popular spot.

Published on Jun 29, 2011

More than 100 turtles crossing the tarmac interrupt New York's busiest airport.

For more, click here: http://abcn.ws/lwUI7G

JFK Airport Runway Shut Down By Pregnant Turtles, Reports Say

Looks like it's Diamondback Terrapin nesting season again at JFK Airport.

patch.com

We've been on the tarmac for two hours...

Dozens of Turtles Delay Flights at JFK Airport

Some flights at Kennedy Airport were briefly delayed by turtles.

nbcnewyork.com

JFK Runway Becomes Turtle Crossing

More than 100 turtles crossing the tarmac interrupt New York's busiest airport. 
For more, click here: http://abcn.ws/lwUI7G

Link: https://youtu.be/tUtmZQrWZhM

Woodpecker feeding young

Chinese Girls, Paintings by Wang Yunpeng (8 images) http://buff.ly/2sr6mMG


 

Try to be an inspiration

 
"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." 
- William Butler Yeats

The Endangered Species Act isn’t enough to save the animals

 

The Endangered Species Act isn’t enough to save the animals: http://slate.me/2qCLZdF 

 

Trump's EPA Just Revived Controversial Pebble Mine

Trump's EPA Just Revived Controversial Pebble Mine

http://ow.ly/xIxu30bGrQQ   
@greenpeaceusa @Sierra_Magazine

France REJECTED Fascism

Unlike USA in its presidential election, France REJECTED fascism in theirs. Congratulations Emmanuel Macron! #FrenchElection Viva la France pic.twitter.com/NLpoL7Hvtb

68 replies 648 retweets 1,280 likes