The world celebrated the UN World Wildlife Day last March 3 to raise awareness for the world’s wild animals and plants. Awareness for their plight should be constant so we are using this post to highlight four endangered animals in the world today by showcasing their colors.
If you are stumped about the color palette you will use for repainting your home, just look to nature to get some home paint ideas.
Luzon Bleeding-Heart Dove
Move the slider to the left or right to see the full-sized photos.
The Luzon Bleeding-Heart is a ground dove that lives in the primary and secondary forests in Luzon as well as in Polillo Island.
Its beautiful blue and brown plumage with the distinctive red heart on its chest attracts people to catch them for personal consumption or use, or to sell to pet shops. This is a huge threat to their existence. That’s on top of the destruction of their habitat from mining, logging, or encroachment because people want to use their habitat for agriculture or residential purposes.
Its conservation status is near threatened, meaning that the population of the species is rapidly decreasing and nearing extinction. Decades-long massive deforestation is the main cause why their numbers are dwindling.
Color Palette Tip: You can also use Blue Skies Today|BCP-0604 for the walls then add touches of red to the space. Check out the moody blues in this article.
Tiger, Tiger Burning Bright
Move the slider to the left or right to see the full-sized photos.
The tiger needs no introduction. It is a beautiful and powerful animal with such distinctive colors and strong markings, and it is known for its beauty, grace, power, and strength. Many hunters shoot it down for recreation and bragging rights. Another reason is for profit like selling the different parts of the animal for traditional medicinal purposes.
Like the Luzon Bleeding-Heart, the tiger’s habitat is increasingly under threat due to agricultural development. The hunting of their main preys, like wild pigs, forces them to turn to livestock for food. This aggravates the man-animal relationship even further and leads to more killings of the animal.
The tiger is extinct in ten countries with its population wiped out in 96% of their historic range. Now there are only less than 3,000 wild tigers left, from the more than 100,000 wild tigers a century ago, in 11 countries in Asia where they are considered endangered.
Color Palette Tip: The Tiger palette is warm and bright with its deep orange and brown. Using this palette for rooms that are used for social activities like the living room, dining room, or kitchen.
Turtle Love
Move the slider to the left or right to see the full-sized photos.
The turtle falls under the endangered list because of poaching and over-exploitation for its eggs, meat, shell, and skin. It also ends up as bycatch in the fishing industry, meaning that it really is not the target but it ends up in the nets unintentionally. Man’s activities plus the destruction of its habitat put 3 out of the 7 turtle species in the critically endangered list. Added to that is climate change harming its nesting sites which affects the hatchlings.
If you swim close to one in our waters, just watch but don’t touch. The turtle can feel pressure and pain through its shell.
Unfortunately, this pandemic has brought more challenges for the turtle and other sea creatures. The single-use face masks we use end up in the sea. Watch this recent BBC video about what’s happening in our very own waters.
Color Palette Tip: The colors for the Turtle palette are similar to the Tiger palette except that the yellows and browns are lighter. Use these in social spaces in your home, or any place where you want to have this cheerful vibe.
Long Live the Bee
Move the slider to the left or right to see the full-sized photos.
The buzz of life rests on the bees. Along with other insects and birds, they are responsible for pollinating 90% of the world’s wild plants and 75% of the world’s leading crops, according to WWF. The main causes for their demise are habitat fragmentation which comes about when a huge expanse of habitat is cut into smaller, isolated pieces. Climate change also plays a huge role in their declining numbers, along with pesticides.
What does this mean for us if the bees become extinct? This would bring about the destruction of our fragile ecosystem and would adversely affect the global food supplies.
Plantitos and Plantitas, Bee Friendly
Being a virtual plantita, I have been following respected and famous gardeners who advocate for a meadow-style garden with wildflowers and grass that grows in the way it wants. No mowers are used to cut them down.
Monty Don, one of the UK’s respected gardeners said, “An immaculate garden is a hostile place to most wildlife. Beautifully weeded borders, with every fallen leaf and twig gathered and disposed of, hedges kept constantly crisp and grass mown to within a fraction of its life may make a certain sort of gardener glow with pride but will provide little comfort for most of our birds, mammals and insects.”
Another gardener whose work I love is Dutch Piet Oudolf, one of the pioneers of the natural garden.
So, plantitos and plantitas, if you are going to plant a garden, discover the beauty of the wild. It would help if you use endemic plants. With this type of garden, you will make a welcoming home for bees…and butterflies, dragonflies, wasps, birds…and all other creatures that take care of plant pollination.
Color Palette Tip: Joyous and energetic, this is the pulse of the Bee palette. This one has a brighter yellow and orange than those in the Tiger and the Turtle palettes. These energetic colors would look great in a family room.
Click on this link for more interior color inspirations.