Dimensions
Sculpture:
44.9 x 45.7 x 42.9 inch (H*L*W) 401.2 lbs
114 x 116 x 109 cm (H*L*W) 182 kgs
Base:
45.7 x 40.9 inch (L*W)
116 x 104 cm (L*W)
Medium
Bronze
Style
Contemporary Sculpture, Wildlife, Activist Art
Edition Number
/6
Description
Living in the wet bamboo forests in the mountains of China is just the life for a rolly black and white bear. This 7-month-old baby loves the peace and tranquillity disturbed only by him and his mother playfully tumbling through the undergrowth. Having no predators makes things a lot easier for this little bear but his mother worries about what he will do when he is old enough to leave home. Their habitat is getting much too small with people developing all around making it impossible to get from one side of their territory to the other.
The national treasure of China, this cuddly-looking black and white bear has been a symbol of conservation for decades. Living in the temperate forests of the mountains of China, they spend 12 hours of their day eating bamboo, 26-84 pounds of it. It has elongated wrist bones, similar to thumbs, which have developed specifically for the task of plucking stalks. Even though they may appear to be sedentary animals they are actually very good climbers and swimmers.
For most people, the only way to see a panda is in a zoo. Because of their iconic black and white markings, they become invisible in the masses of bamboo they hide in. Pandas are solitary creatures with an incredible sense of smell to help them to avoid one another. The only time they come together is to mate. Mating in captivity has been notoriously difficult with a natural mating now very rare. Incredibly, while the world sat in lockdown, two pandas finally found themselves in the mood. Maybe all they needed was a little privacy!
A mother will give birth to one or two cubs but she can only take care of one. These babies are born blind, cannot crawl, and are pink with little white hairs. The tiny baby is completely helpless and nurses 6-14 times a day in sessions up to half an hour long. Occasionally the mother will need to leave the den for a few hours to feed where she leaves her baby defenceless. They will start to develop their iconic black and white look a month after they are born. At about 2 ½ months old the mother will start to play and wrestle with her cub and feed it small amounts of bamboo but it will keep drinking her milk for a year. The family will stay together for about 2 years after which the cub will head out to find its own territory.
Giant pandas were rapidly heading towards extinction. But with a huge push for conservation efforts in the '60s, the giant panda has moved from the classification of rare to vulnerable, now with around 1,800 in the wild. 67 panda reserves in China protect around two-thirds of the giant pandas in the wild and more than 50% of the giant panda's habitat. This is important as one of the biggest threats still facing the panda is habitat loss. Development for dams, roads, and railways are fragmenting the panda's habitats making it difficult for them to find potential mates and more bamboo.
Artwork Features
Gillie and Marc love working in bronze for many reasons. Bronze is a very hardy material and will last forever. As experts in coloring bronze, Gillie and Marc enjoy experimenting with their sculptures, adding a splash of color to brighten the work, making it even more unique. > Read more
For every purchase of a bronze sculpture you will receive a certificate of authenticity, titled, signed, dated and editioned by the artists.
Care Instructions
Bronze is very easy to clean, allowing you to enjoy your precious sculpture with minimal upkeep. > Read more
Shipping, Returns and Refunds
Please visit this page to learn all about our policies. > Read more
Give Back to WWF-AUSTRALIA
With every edition purchased, Gillie and Marc will proudly donate 30% of proceeds to support WWF-Australia.
WWF is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature.
For more information, visit https://wwf.org.au/donate/wild-about-babies/
