I think that bone is a beautiful material. It can be bleached white or it can carry within it some very rich ochres and umbers as well as russet, or even ebony black. It might be pitted or cracked, chipped or smooth as if sanded. Bone catches light and forms shadows in some very interesting ways, and skulls, in all their variations, can contain beautiful white slopes or deep, dark caverns. Shapes of teeth, eye sockets, noses and ear canals vary widely and rendering them in pencil or paint is a great challenge, forcing me to take a good look at what’s in front of me.
Science Art-Nature: Until about 10,000 years ago, the lion (Panthera leo) was the most widespread large land mammal after humans. Now, most live in eastern and southern Africa, where they have undergone an estimated 30–50 percent decline over the last couple of decades, and a drop from perhaps 400,000 in 1950 to between 16,500 and 47,000 by 2004. Since lions have no natural predators, many males die violently from confrontations with humans or other lions.
The lion’s skull resembles that of the tiger, differing in the frontal region, which is typically more depressed and flattened, in having a slightly shorter postorbital region, and in having broader nasal openings. But, there’s a lot of variation, and only the lower jaw provides a reliable ID. Identification of species is hardly the only information that can be gleaned from looking at bones. The age and sex of an animal can be reliably determined in most cases, as well as its general condition. Individual strength can be inferred from the sites of muscle attachment, and various injuries can provide clues to the kind of life the creature led. A number of diseases can also leave their marks indelibly in bone.
(see also Pas's Stalk):
After its recovery from the plague of the early 1960s, the lion population of the Ngorongoro Crater appeared to be regulated by a density limit of around 100 individuals (a bottom-up process). Since a succession of three outbreaks between 1994 and 2001, however, the total has failed to rise much over 60, suggesting additional pressures from a top-down process, such as predation, competition, disease or parasites. Exactly what has shifted this limit is still unclear, although reduced immunity among the inbred population, introduction of new pathogens, and various changes in the crater's general ecology are all likely suspects.
|
