When art meets conservation, the results are bound to be inspiring. That’s what One More Generation, a conservation organisation run by two very young conservationists, believes in and is trying to achieve with their latest Pangolin Awareness Campaign and Art Install. Teaming up with a passionate artist and pangolin conservationist, the organisation has launched their global campaign that would connect children, conservationists and artists through art and inspire the world to save the precious pangolins.
Why Pangolins?
Did you know that pangolins are now considered the most poached and trafficked mammal on the planet? It is estimated that we have lost over 1- million pangolins in the last decade alone. That means we are loosing one pangolin every 5-minutes (#Every5Min) or 288 pangolins per day (compare that to 96 elephants per day).
There are only eight remaining species of pangolin left. Four live on the African Continent and four throughout Asia including India. In Africa the animals are sought after for the ‘bush-meat’ trade while in Asia they are considered both a delicacy in some countries and they are prized for their scales which are believed to have medicinal value. Pangolin scales are made of keratin, which is the same as a rhino horn, your hair and your fingernails and all have been proven to have zero medicinal properties.
Pangolins are mainly nocturnal and typically solitary creatures, which do not do well in captivity. Depending on where in the world they live, they either burrow in the ground or find hollow trees where they live and rest. They come out primarily to forage for food which mainly consists on ants, termites and in low insect availability conditions, larva.
Read More: 4 Critically Endangered Mammals Of India
Pangolins are basically ‘Armored Anteaters’ and have little natural predators except man. Pangolins are covered with a hard set of scales over most of it’s body and when threatened, they roll up in a ball to protect their underbelly and wait until the predator loses interest and walks away. That same form of defence is actually aiding in their demise because it makes it easy for poachers to pick them up and carry them away.
One-Of-A-Kind 3D Art For Pangolins
One More Generation has teamed up with artist and pangolin conservationist Louise Fletcher to launch their global Pangolin Awareness Campaign. Louise has created a huge 12-foot wide by 8-foot high watercolour banner which depicts the vibrant colours of the pangolin’s natural habitat. The image has a Sunda pangolin with its baby on its back in the center of the banner. What is unusual though it that the pangolin is not painted. It is only a black and white outline, which will be filled by visitors of participating zoos and schools to fill with pangolin scales that will be provided to them.
These scales are made of construction material and cut in the shape of the real pangolin scale. To make these scales even more attractive, One More Generation has asked artists from all over the world to provide sketches and drawings of pangolins made by them that would be scanned inside each ‘scale’. Artists from ABUN (Artists and Biologists Unite For Nature) have especially come together and volunteered to provide these wonderful sketches.
Thus, each ‘scale’ will work like an individual colouring page. You can colour the mini pangolin sitting inside the scale, and then attach this scale to the huge banner, to give colours and scales to the black and white pangolin there and create a one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
Read More: Pangolin Rescued From A Well In Gujarat
The zoos and schools would also conduct an educational presentation with the art work to make everyone aware of the threats, beliefs, and various conservation efforts being done to save the species.
Global Display
The Hartsfield International Airport has already agreed to take the completed art projects from around the world and display it at the airport for the entire world to see. The One More Generation team is also keen to collaborate with other schools, zoos and cities across the world to participate. Once a zoo or a school completes the banner, it will be displayed in the local museum or airport. This would not just look awe inspiring but would educate local youth to voice their support for species such as the pangolin that are in dire need of help and protection.
If you would want your school or zoo to participate, no matter where in the world you are, you can contact One More Generation through their website www.OneMoreGeneration.org or email them at info@OneMoreGeneration.org
About the Organisation
One More Generation (OMG) was founded in 2009 by 8 year old Carter Ries and 7 year old Olivia Ries and the two have been part of many successful animal conservation campaigns since the inception of this organisation. They believe that children have the power to solve the issues of endangered species and threats to the environment and by actively organising the projects such as the current one for pangolins, they are proving to be a true inspiration for millions of youth around the world.
India’s Endangered is supporting the Pangolin Awareness Campaign. If you would like to know more about how to participate for the art project, you can also send us a mail or leave a comment here.
This year World Pangolin Day will be celebrated on 18th Feb. By participating in this project, you can make sure your voice is heard in the efforts to save this species.
Read More: Everything You Want To Know About Pangolin Poaching
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