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SilverFlight β The Docile Hunters
Published: 2012-03-17 13:13:33 +0000 UTC; Views: 1803; Favourites: 89; Downloads: 0
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I saw an amazing documentary on sharks, the concept for this painting was inspired by one of the camera shots in it.The documentary is called Sharkwater [link]
Sharks are so cool, and their reputation really is misplaced. Most species are very shy. Because they have ridiculously cool electrosensory organs in the tips of the noses, they can actually sense your heart beat and usually split before they see you. Sharks are NOT mindless killers. Hunters yes, though they hunt within reason.
That's why the waterhorse is perfectly comfortable swimming alongside them.
And now for my conservation bit; (because there has to be one every time a threatened animal makes in into my paintings)
One of the largest threats to sharks today is the finning trade; shark are caught only for their fins, and most are not even killed before their fins are taken.
There is a huge black-market trade, where sharks are being caught illegally in protected areas like the waters around the Galapagos, one of the few places some sharks go to breed.
Sharks are THE top marine predator so they also have a huge hand in controlling ecosystem stability of marine habitats all over the globe. They have been on earth, almost unchanged for 140 million years.
You can do something!
Shark fin soup is actually illegal in several major cities around the world. The fin gives no flavor to the soups and it is NOT an aphrodisiac as sometimes it is marketed as. You can send a letter to your city councilor asking them to consider banning it where you live. Otherwise, refuse to buy shark products, including teeth, ground cartilage and skin. Sharks are disappearing because of human demand for their parts, if we work to stop the demand, we stop the killing.
This site here knows much more about the initiative than I do, so if you're interested go here [link]
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Comments: 26
Weeeeird (in a good way). Sharks are also really cool. I think I read somewhere they found one in the Arctic Circle that was around 200 years old.
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Wow. That's pretty cool.
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Spread the love; paint a shark XD
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I've heard that sometimes the poachers will cut off the fins and then toss the live shark back into the water, as if the shark was still going to live after that. 
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Unfortunately that is true, its the most common way of doing it if the sharks don't suffocate in the nets or die of exhaustion first.
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That's sad. People can be so wasteful. I can understand some people needing to hunt for survival, or when they actually use all the animal, but just killing a creature for fun or for one single part of it seems immoral to me.
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You'd be right.Though in many cases like the shark, a lot of the people hunting them are poor and have very few options. That's why part of conservation is trying to improve the lives of local communities, so they're not forced to turn to poaching to feed their families.
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When it's the only option for people in poverty, at least I can understand that more--it isn't just killing for fun, at least. I was thinking more of trophy hunters that pay big bucks for the opportunity to shoot an animal so they can mount it's head in their house or something. I was watching a documentary on cougars last night where these guys would pay an outfitter to find and tree a cougar for them, and then the hunter would shoot the big cat while it was in the tree. Didn't seem very sporting, and very wasteful, as only the head or skin was used by the hunter.
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Rrrg trophy hunters. I don't like them. The frustrating thing is that they usually shoot the largest, most fit animals. In other words; the animals that keep the population strong. Take those out and the entire population grows weaker, they don't grow as big, run as fast etc.
On the flip side of that though, many trophy parks in Africa regulate their hunting, and keep poachers out, so the populations within the park are theoretically stable...conservation is sometimes about making counter-intuitive decisions..
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Yeah, conservation can be a tricky subject. I never really thought about regulated hunting being related to conservation, but I can see where you come from there. I heard that in Africa, some rangers are tranquilizing rhinos and cutting off their horns so that poachers don't kill them. Must be expensive though. :/
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its very expensive to be sure, even the rhinos in zoos have that done. Deciding where to spend funding is one of the most difficult and crucial parts of conservation. I think getting local communities involved is one of the best ways, creating a value for the species either through tourism or sustainable harvesting. That way the people living in the area will be aware and be interested in protecting the species close to them. To an extent that is what Project Seahorse has done: [link] its one of my favorite success stories. ^^
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Doing it that way also helps the people in the communities and the economy too so it is even better. Animals can be a sustainable resource if managed properly.
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Oooohhh, this is a lovely and interesting picture! I love hippocampi.
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Thank you
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I've always loved and feared sharks at the same time. They're fascinating and beautiful creatures. Sometimes, I really can't understand what humans think... it disgusts me to see how our vanity and ignorance is killing this world.
Great job with the picture, it carries a noble message.
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Thank you, ^^ I'll be trying my best to couple conservation and art in the future. Oh, if you want to see someone patting a shark like a dog, the star of the documentary puts several of those sequences in the film, I recommend it. ^^ Most species really aren't dangerous.
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You're welcome, dear ^.^ That sounds like an amazing project, can I suggest that you do a baby seals one next time? There's this horrible hunting of them every winter in Canada, so I think it'll be a good them to create conscience.
I will watch the video, of course! ^.^
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Baby seals, sounds good ^^
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I know! Sharks are amazing creatures (even though Iβm afraid of them) and I am just appalled at the horrible ways people kill them for their fins. Itβs just so terrible!
Anyway, I love your art, it is a great concept 
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