Wild, Wild Horses

One reason for focusing on the takhi in particular is the fact that they have only recently enjoyed this freedom. They had been extinct in the wild since 1969. The number of these horses in captivity was down to 54 before World War II. Since then, scientists have been carefully breeding them to bring their numbers up, carefully reducing inbreeding problems and getting them ready for release into the wild, which first happened in Mongolia in 1992.

Fox paints animals in their natural habitat out of her passion for and interest in them, but, as she explained, she cannot separate her love of painting animals from wanting to ensure there are animals to paint. “And in order to ensure that, there has to be a place for them.”

Her painting can go full circle, then, because as she expresses her love of these rare animals, the paintings raise awareness about the issues of habitat protection, and people on the other side of the world start to care about animals they might never have an opportunity to see otherwise.

Horses are an easy thing for humans to love. We’ve had a relationship with them for aeons, and wild horses especially stir in us our own love of freedom. Stretching powerful legs, reaching out long necks, running for the pure joy of running, manes flying in the wind - come on, doesn’t that just get your blood pumping? For this area of Mongolia, through Fox’s paintings, the takhi are the “charismatic megafauna,” those animals that people easily fall in love with and so become the driving forces in conservation efforts. By getting the takhi back to their natural environment and maintaining it for them, all of the other species in that part of the world benefit.

The body of work that Fox has produced since making her trip is still relatively small, but you can see what she has done so far and hear her talk about her adventures in Mongolia by signing up for her lecture at HSU’s Natural History Museum on Thursday, March 22. It’s at 7 p.m. and it’s only 2 bucks if you’re a member (double that if you’re not). The museum is located at 1315 G St, in Arcata. You can register in advance online at www.humboldt.edu/~natmus. Visit Susan Fox’s website www.foxstudio.biz to find out more about her artwork.

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