EDGE Focal Species

The ZSL has chosen ten high-ranking species to be the focal species for 2007. These animals had little or no conservation attention, and will be researched further. Here are this year's focal species.

Yangtze River dolphin – Lipotes vexillifer
Long-beaked echidna – Zaglossus bruijni
Hispaniolan solenodon – Solenodon paradoxus
Bactrian camel – Camelus bactrianus
Pygmy hippopotamus – Hexaprotodon liberiensis
Slender loris – Loris tardigradus
Hirola – Damaliscus hunteri
Golden-rumped elephant shrew – Rhynchocyon chrysopygus
Bumblebee bat – Craseonycteris thonglongyai
Long-eared jerboa – Euchoreutes naso

The EDGE of Existence

The Zoological Society of London has created a program to protect the world's most Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered animals, called the EDGE of Existence. Researchers have come up with a list of 100 unique mammal species that have few close living relatives and are in danger of extinction. Their goal is to begin conservation efforts for these poorly known animals.

I have always been interested in the strange and unusual animal species. When I read about this project, I decided that I would like to try to make an illustration of each of the 100 EDGE mammals. I hope that this personal challenge helps to raise awareness for these species. I'll be posting my paintings, along with more information about the species, as I finish them. I don't have any set date in mind to have them all finished, and I don't even know if I can find enough reference on each species. But I hope that I'll have illustrated the ten focal species for 2007 by the end of the year.