Category: Culture
Forsaken Felines: The 5 most endangered big cat species in the world
While big cats have been immortalised in haute joaillerie form by such renowned brands as Cartier and Chanel, the same cannot be said about their real-life counterparts. In fact, some species of these furry felines have declined to such an extent that without drastic measures, they’ll soon disappear off the face of our planet. From the few to the almost-non-existant, here are five of the most endangered big cat species in the world.
5. Asiatic Lion – Only 400 in existence
Once a common sighting across wide swathes of the Indian subcontinent, Middle East and the Mediterranean, incessant overhunting nearly brought these majestic beasts to the brink of extinction. By 1907, just 13 members of this endangered big cat species were to be found. Across intervening decades and thanks to a mammoth conservation and breeding effort, that number has been boosted to a still-depleted 400, all of them found within the Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat, India.
4. Iberian Lynx – Less than 200
Native to the Iberian Peninsula in Spain, Portugal and southern France, consistent habitat loss and human-caused diseases wiped out the majority of these big cats from a population of 4,000 half a century ago to an in-the-wild population of just over 100 today, with a few dozen more raised in captivity. There’s hope on the horizon, though, as eggs and biological materials were harvested from two captive females in Berlin in 2013 via pioneering process, all in the hopes of reviving its decimated demographics.
3. Asiatic Cheetah – Only about 100
A high infant mortality rate and persistent overhunting have seen the once-abundant Asiatic Cheetah – native to the Middle East and Central Asia – all but wiped out. Now, the remaining 100 or so members of this endangered big cat species can be found in Iran where they still face the threat of poaching, loss of prey and habitat destruction.
2. Amur Leopard – Less than 100
With only 50 or so Amur Leopards recorded in Russia and a further 10 in China, there’s no doubt that the Amur Leopard is one of the most endangered big cat species in the world. Designated a subspecies only recently in 2003, its lack of recognition further exacerbated its demise. Thankfully, however, efforts by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Russia has seen its population double in the last decade.
1. South China Tiger – Less than 50, possibly extinct in the wild
As recently as the ’50s, the South China Tiger population was estimated to be around 4,000. But everything turned for the worse when the Communist government declared it an ‘enemy of the people’ in 1959. There have been no confirmed sightings in the wild for over four decades now, with the sole survivors seemingly all in captivity.
Lots of History: The Best Moments of 2018 from Auction Houses Worldwide
It’s been a big year for auction houses world over. Despite the ever-changing economic climate, it seems that big-ticket jewels, fashions and artworks cannot fail to draw the attention, and the cash, of bidders. And so as the hammer falls on 2018, we look at some of the stand-out moments from our favourite auctioneers.
The Record-breaking Sale of The Pink Legacy Diamond
We’ve mentioned The Pink Legacy Diamond at Gafencu before but we love any excuse to have a look at it! The diamond sold at Christie’s in Geneva and set the record for highest price paid per carat for a pink diamond. You can read more about The Pink Legacy here.
Jenny Saville and David Hockney become the World’s Most Expensive Living Artists
Christie’s New York made headlines when Hockney’s Portrait of an Artist (pool with two figures) sold for US$90.3 million to an unknown buyer making the British painter a record holder as no other art work has ever been sold for more during the artist’s lifetime.
Meanwhile at Sotheby’s in London, Jenny Saville became the world’s most expensive female artist after her groundbreaking self-portrait Propped was sold for £9.5 million, Making it the most expensive work by a living female artist.
The Sale of the First Artwork Authored by AI
It wasn’t just human artists breaking records in 2018. This year Christie’s became the first to auction an AI-generated artwork. Although the move was considered rather controversial, Portrait of Edmond Belamy sold for $432,500, almost 45 times more than it’s original estimate.
Sotheby’s held their first watch auction in Dubai
You don’t get to be one of the oldest and most prolific auction houses around without keeping an eye on the future. With the market in Dubai continuously expanding, Sotheby’s hosted its first watch auction with grand sales of US$2.6 million.
China Guardian Made Their Highest Ever Sales
The second-largest auction house in Hong Kong reported HK$1.1 billion in annual sales, their highest-ever annual total. Highlights from their Autumn auctions included a collection of Jade Carvings which achieved rare “white glove” status and a 19.69-carat natural Colombian emerald and diamond ring which went for HK$ 20.62 million.
The Girl With A Balloon Became Love Is In The Bin
It would be highly remiss of us to publish a round-up of auction news without mentioning the infamous sale of Banksy’s Girl with a Balloon, now retitled Love is in the Bin. The world watched in a mixture of horror, humour and wonder as the hammer came down on the £1,042,000 sale and the painting promptly began to self-destruct. The buyer decided to keep the partially shredded artwork and the piece was duly renamed. Banksy later admitted that, despite many rehearsals, the prank had actually gone wrong. The painting was supposed to be completely shredded but the mechanism jammed part way through.
Text: Alice Duncan
Four book recommendations if you liked Crazy Rich Asians
Now that everyone’s read (or read about) Kevin Kwan’s bestseller novel Crazy Rich Asians and are eagerly waiting for the movie to release next week, here are four book recommendations, which – according to avid book lovers – you may like if you liked Crazy Rich Asians.
First up is Sarong Party Girls by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan. Taking a derogatory phrase commonly used in Singapore to describe Asian women looking to climb the social ladder by marrying rich Western expats, the author weaves an engaging tale of a young Singaporean woman and her friends, as they navigate a glitzy world of glamour, revealing a highly stratified society underneath.
Moving on to Chinese diaspora in the US, many would be able to relate to Jade Chang’s debut novel, The Wangs vs. the World which narrates the story of a wealthy Chinese immigrant family in the US, who apparently ‘have it all’ till the catastrophic financial crisis strikes, forcing them to introspect about what they truly value the most.
For its part, Lisa Ko’s The Leavers, too, explore the idea of an American Dream gone wrong. Adopted by white parents, a Chinese child grapples with the reality of losing his biological mother while trying to adjust to a new culture.
Jean Kwok, bestselling author of Girl in Translation, explores a similar theme of cultural contrast in her new novel Mambo in Chinatown, which follows the story of a young girl Charlie Wong who’s spent her entire life in New York’s Chinatown. But a new job at a ballroom studio throws her life upside down and opens up a world she never knew existed.
Text: Suchetana Mukhopadhyay