Art for Gorillas

Category: Art of Conservation (AoC) | Date: Aug 12 2008 | By: Julie

Thanks for viewing the previous Madagascar blog which included my first video! The next video is not quite as shaky! We heard from Mike who shares with us information about the new exhibit at the Bronx Zoo in New York called Madagascar and the New York Academy of Sciences recently released Podcast which features the director of the program. I’ll tune in.

Hi Paula. Thanks for your comments. I will continue sharing what I experienced in Madagascar with my Rwandan park staff colleagues. By the way, do you know when you are traveling to Rwanda and/or DRC next?

I recently spent time with my mom, siblings, nieces, nephew, and friends in Des Moines, Iowa USA. Fortunately, my immediate family and friends did not experience horrific damage from this summers torrential rains and flooding. I offer my sympathy to those who lost their homes, fields and animals. I also want to express a BIG thank you to my mom, Jo Ghrist, for her continued support to Art of Conservation. She knows better than anyone that is is not easy for me shlepping duffles stuffed with art supplies, books, computer equipment and everything else from Des Moines to Rwanda! She also knows I am determined in trying to make a difference for a few Rwandan children and a few mountain gorillas. So, MOM, thanks again for your love and support.

Madagascar - a herpetologist’s and entomologist’s paradise - has around 340 known reptile species. Below are photographs a fellow traveler and I snapped during our 2 week Madagascar ecotour.

The watercolors interspered between the photos were made in Rwanda during our art classes last year, 2007.

Chameleons are solitary creatures and spend most of their time in trees.

Pretty watercolors painted be Art of Conservation students in Rwanda, 2007.

The eyes of a chameleon move independent of each other.

Team AoC invited a visiting herpetologist to its three classes. After our discussion about chameleons, snakes, and frogs, we headed outside to get up-close and personal with these reptiles. The students easily located them in the nearby bushes. When finished, we carefully placed them back.

A chameleon takes hold of branches with its toes and fingers which are fused together in two opposing groups. Its tail is used as a fifth hand.

More artful Reptilia from AoC’s students.

Who doesn’t love a hissing cockroach? Sara, my sister, does.

Many other invertebrates abound here in Madagascar: the Giraffe-necked weevil, the Giant katydid, the Lubber grasshopper, scorpions, millipedes, brightly colored butterflies and moths, to name a few.

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And finally, photographs from Al Padilla, a fellow traveler who never ceased to teach and amuse me with his brilliant and humorous views on life.

A gorgeous gecko.

Noses that just won’t stop - actually referred to as rostral protuberances - are used to impress females and in combat.

A painted mantella is pictured above. There are between 220 and 300 frogs species living on Madagascar.

I’ve read that there are currently 67 species of chameleons in Madagascar and new ones are being discovered.

A beautiful smile from this White Nile Croc.

Julie

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Tags: Art of Conservation (AoC)