Happy Monday Everyone!
Today I have my Red Panda! It was a quick piece so it is very simple! The Red Panda is known as the first panda because it was discovered 50 years before the giant panda. It is also called firefox for its red coat and its fluffy tail that it can wrap around itself to keep warm.
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It's closed up Monday! I have my surprise Instagram animal post from last Tuesday, the West Indian Manatee. This manatee has so many interesting facts but here are my favorite ones.
Florida manatees can't take long periods of temperatures below 68 degrees Fahrenheit. This is surprisingly due to their bodies not having a lot of fat insulation and their metabolic rate being low. Their bodies are mostly made up of their stomach and intestines. They can move between saltwater, brackish water, and freshwater with their kidneys helping to filter out too much salt. This water is for drinking purposes.
The West Indian manatee is vulnerable.
Historically they were hunted for their bone, flesh and hide. They are now protected but their populations are still in decline due to habitat loss and injuries from boats. Scars created by boating accidents are used by scientists to identify the individual manatee. For more information on the West Indian Manatee, check out my sources below. Photo References: Fun Facts:
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Videos: Happy Endangered Species Awareness Day! A day to learn about Endangered Species and how to protect them! I have created many animals in 2019 and 2020 that are listed as critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable / threatened so I thought I'd shine a spotlight on them. My critically endangered species are the Axolotl and Hawksbill Sea Turtle. My endangered species are my Mama Sea Otter, Sunbathing Ringtailed Lady Lemur, African Painted Dog, and Maned Wolf. Although not endangered but still vulnerable and threatened are my Greyheaded Flying Fox (aka fruit bat), Giant Panda, Southern Hognose Snake, and the West Indian Manatee. I won't go into full detail on all the factors that have caused or contributed to these animals becoming critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable/ threatened.
Instead, I will focus on one major human impact that many if not all of these animals have faced: Habitat Loss. Habitat loss can include habitat destruction, fragmentation, and degradation. When you think of habitat destruction think of bulldozers and other construction equipment that change the layout of the habitat. Habitat fragmentation is basically cutting into their habitat like building roads or structures through their homes. Habitat degradation includes pollution, bringing in non-native species that thrive and can kill or compete for resources, and people trying to control the natural ecosystem processes. Why do we cause habitat loss? We want farms for food. We want land for houses, roads, and other stuctures. We want to control water flow. Our untreated waste, fertilizers, and pesticides can get into and pollute the water. There is no simple solution but if you would like to learn more and become involved in helping these animals and more. Check out my sources:
This is my Blue Dragon Sea Slug, also known as Sea Swallow, Blue Angel, and Blue Glaucus. It can grow as long as 1.2 inches, about the size of a regular paper clip, and eats the Portuguese Man O' War that can get up to 165 feet long, or the length of two female blue whales! A little air bubble in its stomach helps it to float. Some of the Portuguese Man O' War tentacles contain nematocysts, or venom coils, that are dangerous to people. Even unattached tentacles or dead Man O' War still have enough venom to cause intense pain (though it rarely kills). This sea slug takes that venom and concentrates it in its long "fingers". This makes it more deadly than the Man O' War! For more information check out my sources: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/inside-nature-featured-creature-blue-dragon/ https://oceana.org/marine-life/corals-and-other-invertebrates/blue-glaucus Happy Mother's Day! We may be quarantined but we can still celebrate our moms through the internet! I have three depictions on motherhood in my animals so far and coincidentally their babies are all referred to as pups. What is your favorite mother and baby relationship in the animal kingdom? This is the Southern Hognose Snake I surprise posted on Instagram last Tuesday for the @WildlifeWednesdayChallenge I’ve been challenging myself to go faster in my creative process. My goal was to finish this piece within a day and I did finish it in about 11 hours. I still felt rushed with all the scales but I think it came out very well for the most part.
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Artist and Blogger
I'm just a doodling artist. My current style started in a lecture class at MCLA where I began doodling in my notebooks. Now I've started a new series focusing on animals. Archives
April 2021
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