Today is close up day for my Key Deer design and some of my favorite fun facts about Key Deer. A fully grown Key Deer is about 2 to 3 feet tall and 55 to 80 pounds. That is about the size of a medium sized dog. Their fawns are about the size of a house cat. Because of their size, they are nicknamed Toy Deer. They are the smallest subspecies of the North American white-tailed deer but are the largest herbivores on the Florida Keys. They are the smallest subspecies of the North American white-tailed deer but are the largest herbivores on the Florida Keys. About ¾ of the Key Deer population is located on the Big Pine and No Name Keys islands. Key Deer eat at least 150 types of native flora including mangrove leaves and thatch palm berries. Thatch palm trees, red mangroves, and black mangroves are depicted in my design. Fresh water sources are very important to their survival but they can handle drinking a little brackish water. (Brackish water is in-between ocean water and freshwater in the amount of salt it has). For more Fun Facts Check out my References below:
Key Deer Facts
Mangrove Species Brackish Water
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March 11th was Key Deer Awareness Day. My Key Deer is a little late but it is always a good day to spread awareness.
Found on the Florida Keys, Key Deer were hunted to near extinction with about 25 deer found in 1951. They were listed as endangered on March 11th, 1967 and were one of the first animals “protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1973.” (https://www.nwf.org/Educational-Resources/Wildlife-Guide/Mammals/Key-Deer). Key Deer do not have any natural predators except humans. Over the years, Key Deer have been conditioned to approach humans from people feeding them. Although this seems like a harmless act of kindness, this causes Key Deer to wander into more human populated areas. This makes them vulnerable to their number one threat of getting hit by cars and other vehicles. To help conserve the Key Deer population, keep the Key Deer wild and do not feed them. It’s Close Up Day! I’m trying out Tuesdays as a new day. Let me know what you think in the comments below. Southern Mountain Viscachas are found in the Andes Mountains from southern Peru and western and central Bolivia to central Chile and western Argentina. They live in colonies at altitudes as high as “4,800 m asl [above sea level]” (IUCN Red List). These areas are very rocky with thinly scattered vegetation so they are very opportunistic herbivores. The food they can find includes lichen, grass, and moss. They sleep in the rock crevices at night and come out at sunrise. During the day, they find a nice spot to sunbathe and groom each other. During sunrise and sunset, they are very active looking for food. According to the IUCN Red List, they are animals of least concern with a stable population. They are locally hunted for meat and fur but have mostly avoided the fur train due to their constant molting. References
Videos of Viscacha in Wild https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lI6AyMt5IKM&feature=emb_logo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA1zBdC6mxg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5WvwTrgNaE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzp8vrrlAFc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzp8vrrlAFc Southern Mountain Viscacha Facts https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Lagidium_viscacia/ https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/11148/22190789 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8bljb9zFwY&feature=emb_logo http://animalia.bio/southern-viscacha Chinchillidae Family Facts https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Chinchillidae/ Happy Tuesday Everyone!
March always reminds me that spring is on its way. As we move toward longer sunny days, I thought I would introduce my Sunbathing Southern Mountain Viscacha. I first discovered Viscachas while researching my Maned Wolf (pictures of 2020 Maned Wolf below) I knew from the moment I saw their chill sunbathing face, I needed to create a Mountain Viscacha design. This bunny looking animal is in the family Chinchillidae with its only living family member being the Chinchilla. I hope you enjoy and close up pictures and fun facts next week! Although the lore varies, the Ox's story is pretty straightforward. The Ox decided to participate in the Jade Emperor's race and ran until it got to the river. Before swimming, the Ox allowed the rat to hitch a ride. Some stories say the rat convinced the Ox to carry it across the river. Other lore says the Rat just jumped into the ear or onto the Ox and the Ox allowed the rat to stay. When they got across the river and/or close to the finish line, the Rat jumped off the Ox and the Ox came in second place. For all my Chinese New Year Posts including the story of the Rat check out the Category Chinese New Year.
References: Want to know why I chose a Banteng to represent an Ox? Check out Professor Yu Jiang and Professor Chuzhao Lei articles: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440313003166 https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/34309-where-is-the-chinese-yellow-cattle-from The Heavenly Race Jade Emperor/Buddha's Race https://chinesenewyear.net/zodiac/ox/ https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/story.htm https://wehavekids.com/parenting/Chinese-Zodiac-Story https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/ https://wehavekids.com/parenting/Chinese-Zodiac-Story#gid=ci026c487c100027c9&pid=chinese-zodiac-story-MTc0NTk0MTgyMTY5MzA3MTI2 https://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/ChineseNewYear/ChineseNewYearDay9.asp https://chinesenewyear.net/myths/ Happy Belated Chinese New Year Everyone! February 12, 2021 was the start of the year of the Ox!
The Ox is the second animal in the Chinese Zodiac lore to complete the Jade Emperor's Heavenly Race. (A story for next week when I do the close ups pictures). In Chinese culture, oxen (aka domesticated cattle) were very important to agriculture. These animals and the farmers who cared for them were seen as being very hardworking, reliable, and modest. The design for my Ox's main body is based on the Banteng, a wild cattle found in Southeastern Asian rather than a domesticated ox or cow. This is because it's hard to find reference photos of Yellow Cattle (or Yanbian taurine cattle) but also because of an interesting article I read by Professor Yu Jiang and Professor Chuzhao Lei. These professors investigated the origins of the domesticated Chinese cattle. In their article, they talked about there being more than 50 breeds of cattle native to China. A good potion of those breeds are yellow so they have been collectively referred to as "Yellow cattle". One of their findings was "Chinese indicine [humped cattle] acquired 2.93% of their genomes from banteng (Bos javanicus), a wild cattle historically distributed in South China and Southeast Asia, with yellow-brown pigment." References: Professor Yu Jiang and Professor Chuzhao Lei articles https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0305440313003166 https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/34309-where-is-the-chinese-yellow-cattle-from The Heavenly Race Jade Emperor/Buddha's Race https://chinesenewyear.net/zodiac/ox/ https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/story.htm https://wehavekids.com/parenting/Chinese-Zodiac-Story https://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/social_customs/zodiac/ https://wehavekids.com/parenting/Chinese-Zodiac-Story#gid=ci026c487c100027c9&pid=chinese-zodiac-story-MTc0NTk0MTgyMTY5MzA3MTI2 https://www.chinesefortunecalendar.com/ChineseNewYear/ChineseNewYearDay9.asp https://chinesenewyear.net/myths/ https://chinesenewyear.net/zodiac/rat/ https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/story.htm https://depts.washington.edu/triolive/quest/2007/TTQ07030/mythology.html Looking back on 2020, I reached so many goals with all of your help. 2020 was my first full year of posting my artwork on Instagram. With your encouragement, I created 33 art pieces, far more than 8 in 2019. I got to share my designs with so many more people than 2019 and more than 200 of you followed me to see more designs!
There were also a few goals I didn’t reach. I wanted to create merchandise and prints to get my artwork into your hands but, unfortunately, it didn't work out in 2020. Thank goodness for 2021 and renewed and new goals! What creative goals (renewed or new) do you want to pursue for 2021? |
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
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