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Watercolor, 31″ x 23″, on Legion Special Handmade, rough 300lb:

Price: $10,000

The Mackinder’s eagle owl (Bubo capensis mackinderi)

About MacKinder’s Eagle Owls

The Kenyan, or Mackinder’s eagle owl, is a subspecies of the eagle owl. Mackinder’s eagle owls in central Kenya are generalist predators capable of exploiting an agricultural niche that is devoid of most other

Research by Simon Thompsett of the Kenya Bird Of Prey Trust has shown that the owls consume a wide variety of prey, 87% mammals, 7% birds and 5% insects.  Farming practices are influencing both prey selection and abundance of Mackinder’s eagle owls.  Owls respond to numerical fluctuations in small mammals and may play an important role in controlling farm pests.

Diet diversity of this population of owls is high and this may have negative long-term consequences for owl productivity and some farming practices continue to threaten this population, particularly the poisoning of owl prey with pesticides.

Range Map of the MacKinder’s Eagle Owl

About the MacKinder’s Eagle Owl at KBOP

About the Painting

Reference:

I saw the MacKinder’s on a trip to the trust and was impressed by its sheer bulk and presence, though he was a bit camera shy, so I resorted to Getty images for a stock photo as my core reference.

Paper:

I used Lanaquarelle 300 lb rough, from Legion Paper, after testing 7 different high-end watercolor papers to see which best suited my techniques of large, smooth gradient washes, wet-on-wet, deliberate blooms, seas salt application, multiple layers of glazing and spot lifting.

Paints

I used David Smith Extra Fine Watercolors: Burnt Umber; Raw Sienna; Burnt Sienna Light, Yellow Ochre; Naples Yellow, Alvarro Caliente Grey, Paynes Grey and Prussian Blue, and for eyes, Chromium Yellow Light, Cadmium Orange and Rose Madder. For the deep purple background, Winsor & Newton Artists Gouache: Prussian Blue; Alizarin Crimson; Payne’s Grey and Burnt Umber

The painting took approx. 100 hours over one and a half busy weeks

IUCN Red list

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, a global standard for assessing the extinction risk of species, lists the Mackinder’s Eagle Owl as “Least Concern”, but several Kenyan Owl species are threatened with extinction, particularly the Sokoke Scops Owl (Otus ireneae), which is listed as :Globally Endangered.

Kenya Bird of Prey Trust

Our Mission

Our mission is to secure healthy raptor populations in Kenya.​ To achieve this we need to protect critical raptor habitats, manage and restore raptor populations and educate people on the value and importance of raptors

What we do

The Kenya Bird of Prey Trust strives to work with partners to actively manage raptors in their natural environment, to understand raptor ecology and movements better,, to restore populations through rescue and rehabilitation, and to educate people in order to limit raptor persecution. With the permission and partnership of the Kenya Wildlife Service, we are responsible for the care of  a variety of raptors in two raptor centres.

Our Programmes:

Rescue and Rehabilitation

Education and Capacity Building

Monitoring and Research

More than half of the world’s raptor species have declining populations and nearly 20% are threatened with extinction. The need to monitor raptors and understand the threats they face is therefore as pressing now as ever.

The Global Raptor Impact Network (GRIN) was created by expanding the African Raptor DataBank globally and combining it with The Peregrine Fund’s Global Raptor Information Network—all in an effort to monitor and conserve the world’s raptors. GRIN gives raptor researchers tools to more efficiently conduct their own studies while contributing to a global program. 

The database of raptor sightings held by GRIN already exceeds 200,000 entries, thanks largely to help from raptor researchers, bird-watchers, and bird atlassing projects. It is designed to use all different types of raptor observations, from road counts, foot transects, and static count data through to satellite tracks, mortality incidents, and museum data. GRIN’s database is coordinated through The Peregrine Fund and managed by Habitat Info.

In Kenya specifically the Peregrine Fund focuses on

Cape eagle-owl

Sokoke scops owl

Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)

As Kenya’s most eminent national wildlife conservation agency, we commit ourselves to providing leadership in wildlife conservation and management.

We manage the fundamentally undiscovered, pristine and undisturbed, Mwea National Reserve – an oasis of calm and tranquility in a populous landscape. 

It shelters two rare bird species; Pel’s fishing owl and the white-backed night heron. It is the only protected reserve in which the globally threatened and Kenya-endemic Hinde’s Babber is found.

The Owls Trust

While not based in Kenya, The Owls Trust is working with SOFAfrica in Kenya to raise awareness about owls and their role in pest control. 

 
 

The male Mackinder’s rescued by Kenya Bird Of Prey Trust was discovered tangled in horticultural plastic and had poked its eye out. It is comfortably housed next to some verreux eagle owls in their Naivasha sanctuary, and is begrudgingly tolerant of human interaction (as opposed to a verrueax, raised from a chick, which has become part of the human family at the trust.

Tim was an African elephant, (Loxodonta Africana, and one of the few remaining giant tuskers, so-called because their tusks almost reach the ground. According to the Tsavo Trust, there are only around 20 giant tuskers left in the world today, as they are challenged by habitation compression, conflict with local farmers and poachers.

Big Tim was beloved by hundreds of thousands of people worldwide and was a major attraction at Amboseli, his home for 50 years. He was, according to Amboseli gamekeepers “intelligent, mischievous, and good-natured – a genuine gentle giant”.

Despite years of near-misses, from farmers and poachers, he died of natural causes in March 2020.
About the painting
I started with a black and white photo from David Yarrow, which was excellent due to its strong lighting, I then did a series of small-scale studies to establish palette and make final paper selection.

The painting took approx. 160 hours over two weeks, and won the Artists for Conservation Pollyanna Pickering Award for “Best Depiction of an Endangered Species, in the juried exhibition, 2021. It was one of 12 artworks selected for the AFC 2022 calendar.

25% of all proceeds from “Tim” art and merchandise is donated to the Sheldrake Wildlife Foundation, which focuses on African elephants, giraffes and rhinos, in Kenya. Their innovative and effective conservation programmes include anti-poaching units, mobile veterinary units, aerial surveillance units along with their globally recognized orphans’ project. They lead the world in African elephant conservation, and hold the highest ratings possible for transparency from Chrity Navigator and GuideStar.

“Sheldrick Wildlife Trust works to address the sustainability of wildlife conservation in Kenya, notably through the preservation of wild species such as elephants, rhino, giraffe, and other indigenous species to the area. Our Trust works to ensure that individual lives of elephants who are compromised are given the opportunity to enter rehabilitation and afforded a second chance in the wild when able. Due to the increasing incidents of poaching, human wildlife conflict, habitat loss and climate change, Sheldrick Wildlife Trust aims to mitigate the pressures exerted on wildlife by effectively providing services in the areas of de-snaring units, aerial surveillance, mobile veterinary units, community outreach and education, as well as our Orphans’ Project.”

This comfy unisex hoodie has a soft outside with a vibrant print and an even softer brushed fleece inside. The hoodie has a relaxed fit, and it’s perfect for wrapping yourself into on a chilly evening.

• 95% recycled polyester, 5% spandex
• Fabric weight (may vary by 5%): 9.08 oz./yd.² (308 g/m²)
• Soft cotton-feel fabric face
• Brushed fleece fabric inside
• Double-lined hood with design on both sides
• Unisex style
• Comes with drawstrings
• Overlock seams
• Blank product components in Mexico sourced from Poland and Mexico
• Blank product components in the EU sourced from China and Poland

Disclaimer: In areas where the fabric is double-layered (like pockets), details from the inner fabric layer may subtly show through, especially with lighter designs.

This product is made especially for you as soon as you place an order, which is why it takes us a bit longer to deliver it to you. Making products on demand instead of in bulk helps reduce overproduction, so thank you for making thoughtful purchasing decisions!

Age restrictions: For adults
EU Warranty: 2 years
Other compliance information: Meets the flammability, and formaldehyde lead and phthalates level requirements.

In compliance with the General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR), Oak inc. and SINDEN VENTURES LIMITED ensure that all consumer products offered are safe and meet EU standards. For any product safety related inquiries or concerns, please contact our EU representative at gpsr@sindenventures.com. You can also write to us at 123 Main Street, Anytown, Country or Markou Evgenikou 11, Mesa Geitonia, 4002, Limassol, Cyprus.

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