FEATURE PRINT
No. 1
"PLEA FOR THE RAINFOREST"
- On its publication in November 1999, Gary described this print as
"currently my favourite piece that I've drawn to date".
The inspiration for this image came from Gary's visit to Borneo -
footage of which can be seen on his video "Drawn to Wildlife"
. He dedicated the print to Gistok, an orang Gary met
at the Tanjung Puting National Park.
- Gistok could not be released as he liked humans too much. It is not
known what happened to him, but he is presumed dead.
- Orang-utan translates as "Man of the Forest". Orangutans are
Red Data Book endangered species, suffering drastically from
illegal hunting and habitat destruction.
- Gary feels deeply that this close relative of ours urgently needs our help. He has
captured this plea so superbly, and with such feeling, in the face of the
baby orangutan.
- On the video there is a powerful image of Gary's hand holding the hand of
a baby orangutan - for me this represents everything about Gary and his
fund-raising for wildlife.
- Orangutans, which are now restricted to Borneo and Sumatra, spend
virtually all their time in the tree canopy to avoid tigers and leopards.
Male orangs are almost as large as adult humans and can live up to 45 years.
- The mother acts as a single parent, carrying around
and caring for her off-spring for several years before she is ready
to conceive again. This slow reproduction rate makes this species very
precarious.
- Gary donated part of the proceeds from this print to orangutan conservation.
Both EIA and Wildlifeline have, or support, orangutan campaigns.
- Virtually every wildlife artist draws or paints big cats, elephants and rhinos, but
there are very few pictures of orangutans.
- Gary has also produced a post-card
of this drawing for his own use.
For enquiries please e-mail
Wendy@garyhodges.org.uk
This background information for
collectors of Gary's prints was collected from various sources and
collated by Peter Wilde. If you have any comments, or can provide
information for future features, please