2012.1126
Taipei Municipal Zoo Published the Desk Calendar for Department of Design Professor Yang En Sheng
The two red-crested crane that came to Taiwan last year “Big” and “Gui Hua” had gradually got used to the climate and environment in Taiwan. Taipei Municipal Zoo recently published the “2013 The Beauty of the Crane Desk Calendar”. They specially cooperated with the “Natural Artist” Yang En Sheng from NTNU Department of Visual Design. The desk calendar included 10 watercolor paintings of the cranes. It was the first desk calendar published by the zoo that focused on the natural art and environmental protection.
The crane was a kind of bird that long existed since the ancient times. Now there were 15 types of crane left in the world. Most of the crane was founded in the wet bog area or the Third World. It was the key species of defining the diversity of the creatures in wetland. The lost and destruction of the bog and wetland directly threatened the life of the cranes. The illegal captures and trades affected the life of the cranes as well. In the 15 species of crane left in the world now, 11 of them were marked as the Vulnerable, Endangered, and even Critical Endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The natural artist Yang En Sheng traveled around the world to see the wetlands and bogs. He first saw the red-crested crane at the North East of China. Since 1988, he was supported by the Windbond Electronics Cooperation and traveled the entire world to follow the step of crane and other wild animals. At the time, Yang En Sheng contacted International Crane Foundation (ICF) as well. He called on their research station and studied and observed the cranes with other researchers. He published a book of the world cranes with the information given by ICF, his own paintings, and his travel experiences.
Taipei Municipal Zoo was appreciated to invite Yang En Sheng to cooperate with them this time. The desk calendar included the 15 kinds of cranes in the world. Through the painting, the zoo hoped to raise more concern of our natural environment to the public.