Amur Leopard by artists Gillie and Marc
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NAME
Sofya
TITLE
Love The Amur Leopard
GENDER
Female
AGE
4
FOUND
Far East Russia and Northern China
CONSERVATION STATUS
Critically Endangered
This female is 4-years-old and loves exploring her snowy world. With her thick coat, she is never cold. But she must be careful and try to stay hidden. Poachers are out there who want her coat too. They think that it will look better on them and don’t seem to care that there are less than 100 of her kind left. Every day she keeps two eyes out, one for her lunch and one for the hunters.
You might think of leopards as being from the warm climates of Africa. But there is one that has perfectly adapted to the winter climates of Russia and China. One of the world’s most endangered species, this beautiful big cat is perfectly adapted to its cold climate with thick pale cream fur covered in the iconic leopard rosettes, helping it to camouflage with the snowy backdrop. They are secretive and solitary animals and spend their day looking for their favourite foods such as the Siberian roe deer and the Sika deer.
Females will have a litter of between 1-4 cubs but usually twins. The cubs are born completely helpless and won’t open their eyes until they are 7-10 days old and begin crawling at 12-15 days. They won’t come out of their den until they are 2 months old and at 3 months their mother teaches them to hunt. The cubs will stay with their mum until they are up to 2 years old before heading off to find their own territories.
There are many threats to this endangered cat. They are poached for their beautiful coats which can reach huge prices on the black market. With human settlements so close to the forests where the leopards live, poaching for both the cats and their prey is very easy. Prey scarcity is another big problem, being taken out by humans at rates which is unsustainable. In China, there are areas that would be suitable to sustain big populations of the cats, but because of hunting of prey, this is not possible. Habitat loss through forest degradation and development projects is also a main threat. With less than 100 Amur leopards left, inbreeding is also a major problem.
HOW TO HELP
Based off real animals that Gillie and Marc met while travelling, the public will be able to meet individual animals.
With public art, more people will come into contact with these sculptures, will stop and consider them, will take a photograph, and will discuss this with their friends and family. Through this increased exposure, the message of love, family, and conservation will be spread much further than any piece of art in a gallery ever could. It will bring people into close contact and will help them to fall in love. With love comes a greater urge to want to create a change and save all endangered animals.
The sculpture will be aligned with the hashtags #LoveTheLast to raise unparalleled awareness about the sculpture’s cause across the globe.
To help protect these animals, please donate to the WWF: https://www.wwf.sg/
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. As one of WWF’s international hubs, WWF-Singapore supports a global network spanning over 100 countries. We work to meet key conservation goals, such as deforestation, haze pollution, food security, sustainable finance, sustainable consumption and illegal wildlife trade.
ABOUT GILLIE AND MARC
Gillie and Marc’s highly coveted public artworks can be found worldwide including in New York, London, Singapore, Shanghai, and Sydney. They are Archibald Prize finalists, won the Chianciano Biennale in Italy, took out the Allens People’s Choice Award in 2016 and 2018 and Kids’ Choice Award in the 2016 Sculpture by the Sea and received the Bayside Arts Festival People's Choice Award in 2019 in Sydney.
The husband-and-wife duo are on a mission to make art for a better tomorrow. They are best known for their beloved characters, Rabbitwoman and Dogman, who tell the autobiographical tale of two opposites coming together as best friends and soul mates.
Gillie and Marc are also passionate eco-warriors and have dedicated their lives to protecting nature.
Gillie grew up with the wildlife in Zambia and Marc studied chimpanzees in Tanzania as a young man. Over time, the artists developed a deep appreciation for all living things and a desire to preserve the magnificence of the natural world.
Through their art, Gillie and Marc aim to transform passive audiences into passionate advocates for animal conservation. Their mission is to use their work as a platform to continue spreading awareness about endangerment, which will ultimately lead to change and save species from extinction.
Their art has raised hundreds of thousands in donations for the many wildlife charities and causes they support through their project Love The Last.
Please follow @gillieandmarcart
If you are interested in buying art related to the Love the Last March, you will also be directly helping real animals in the wild, with 30% of sales going to WWF to continue their fantastic work for animal conservation. Click here to browse art > https://gillieandmarc.com/collections/love-the-last-march