day seventy-five - sarus crane

say hello to the world's tallest flying bird:

© jem barratt

mr sarus crane. they're tall (almost six feet tall), they're rather striking and they dance funny to attract each other. i have a dream of creating a television show presenting animal mating rituals in human terms (not so much like green porno though... that was just weird).

if a man/lady came up to you and did that would you swoon? i think not. but at least it's simple - if you dance best you win the right to procreate. although, i would have so many babies if humans based mating on dance-offs...

xj!

day seventy-four - emu

what time is it? it's WATERMELON BABY TIME!!

© jem barratt

yay! the world is right again. i'm sure that's cured something...

i love watermelon babies as much as the next guy (if the next guy is my clone), but not as much as i love animals riding other animals. especially when the base animal is surly.

xj

p.s. i realise how tenuous that link was but i had to find some way to share my love of animal jockeys without having to draw two animals in one

day seventy-three - marine iguana

ah galapagos. i was so close (pretty close) to you last year, and yet so far. but what i am close to is my NEW POSCAS!! woooooooooo. celebrate with me marine iguana...

"woooooo"

thanks man. i appreciate it. in return i will beat up charles darwin's ghost for you. for here are some of the nasty things he had to say about you*:

"disgusting clumsy lizards"
"i call them 'imps of darkness'"
"a hideous-looking creature ... stupid and sluggish in its movements"
"one day i carried one to a deep pool ... and threw it in several times as far as i was able"

woah now charles, what did they do to you? s'cool iggy i've got your back.
xj

*not made up

day seventy-two - golden lion tamarin

yes! finally i drew an endangered animal. not that i'm happy this guy is endangered, but i seem to feel better blogging about the one's in need of help.

© jem barratt

it may seem silly to draw a bright orange-gold animal in black felt-tip pen. and it is.

but that's life. it may also seem silly to deforest tamarin habitats. fancy that.

the good news is that they have bounced back from being CRITICALLY endangered, to just being endangered, and that has to count for something.

gold star golden lion tamarin. keep up the good work.
xj

day seventy-one - golden snub-nosed monkey

today's animal is a combination of the subject of my favourite ever animal photo and the subject of my favourite ever peter gabriel song (nicely smushed together so as to snub-ify the nose):

© jem barratt

this guy is even the subject of my favourite ever (and first [and only]) sale under the moniker the mantis and the sparrow. so he's pretty special.

the grown ones look magical and evil and like they might be reincarnated gods or anime spirits. but don't try to appeal to them for help because they gots some scary mouth action going on. there's even a sneezy subspecies. for real.

in fact snub-noses come in many styles and faces (all hilarious). please enjoy them at your leisure...
xj