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 I was about to write about Baseball because it's that time of year but then I heard on Brian Lehrer's show, this amazing phrase; Charismatic Megafauna. Brian was interviewing climate change novelist Lydia Millet.  I've never heard of her before but I'm definitely looking her up. When she dropped this wonderful term Brian, bless him, said, "Wait, what did you say?  What is charismatic megafauna?"

Well, charismatic means, "exercising a compelling charm which inspires devotion in others."  I've been drawing animals all my life but this sounds so much more glamorous.

I haven't had time to do real research but here's what Wikipedia says.

Charismatic megafauna are animal species that are large—in the relevant category that they represent[1]—with symbolic value or widespread popular appeal, and are often used by environmental activists to gain public support for environmentalist goals.[2]Examples include tigers, lions, jaguars, hippopotamuses, elephants, gorillas, chimpanzees, giant pandas, brown and polar bears, rhinoceroses, kangaroos, koalas, blue whales, humpback whales, orcas, walruses, elephant seals, bald, white-tailed and eastern imperial eagles, penguins, crocodiles and great white sharks among countless others.[3][4][5] In this definition, animals such as penguins or bald eagles can be considered megafauna because they are among the largest animals within the local animal community of pertinence, and they disproportionately affect their environment. The vast majority of charismatic megafauna species are threatened and endangered by overhunting, poaching, the black market trade, climate change, habitat destruction, invasive species, and many more causes.[6]


Here's some of my own charismatic megafauna.













I'm looking at my animals in a whole new way now that I know they're Charismatic Megafauna.

Did I just say that I would look up Lydia Millet? Well, what do you know?  This week's New Yorker has a review of her new novel!  Don't you love it when that happens? You hear a name and then you hear it again and again? I downloaded her newest--Dinosaur, a Novel.  I'll let you know all about it soon.

Location: 7HG5+9P Narragansett, RI, USA

Comments

  1. AnonymousOctober 15, 2022 at 7:29 PM

    The bison in Yellow is maybe my favorite! Yellow is my fav color. .. enjoy your news much!

    ReplyDelete

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