Shadow of the Rainforest - Black Jaguar

The most serious crisis facing life on the planet earth is the destruction of its biodiversity. A very large percentage of this biodiversity - two-thirds of all earth species - is found in the tropical rainforests. One hectare in the rainforest, an area of two-and-a-half acres, may contain 50 to 100 species of trees; that is about the same number of species of trees found in all of Canada. Scientists studying biodiversity fear that several species are being lost every hour. This is not only a tragedy of lost potential for human food and medicine, it is a sin against creation.

In the tropical rainforests, the towering majesty of the trees makes competition for light a major factor in species survival. Many plants and animals live only in the forest canopy and have no connection with the ground. Some plants send down runners or air roots, and others are epiphytes, obtaining their entire sustenance on the upper branches of giant trees. In these top reaches, it's possible to have gallery forests with trees living up in the trees.

In this painting, I have shown a fragment of gallery forest growing with epiphytes, vines and even a palm tree. In the shadows, one might see a black jaguar. Jaguars and leopards have melanistic or black phases; these individuals are sometimes known as black panthers. Like all predators, jaguars are at the top of the food chain and require large areas of undisturbed territory for their survival. This is one of the reasons that countless caring individuals the world over deplore the rapid destruction of this bountiful world.