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July 11, 2014

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International Save the Vaquita Day tomorrow!

I want YOU

If you haven’t already heard, tomorrow (or today in some places), Saturday, July 12, is International Save the Vaquita Day. ISTVD is a day dedicated to protecting the innocent little Vaquita. The world has been rough to this petite porpoise, and tomorrow is a chance for us to start paying it back. So what will you be doing for International Save the Vaquita Day? Below is a list of confirmed venues for tomorrow. Please check out Facebook or email me at <gl.tamarin123@gmail.com> to find out what times the tables will be. If you can’t find out, a good bet is late morning, and most tables will last for at least a 3-4 hours. Please click here to spread the word, and here to sign VIVA Vaquita’s petition. For a lot more information on ISTVD, check out: https://vlogvaquita.com/international-save-the-vaquita-day-2014/. And if you can’t make it to one of these tables, there will be a Tweetstorm going on tomorrow; all you have to do is write a tweet that includes the hashtags “#SaveTheVaquita” or “#ISTVD” to help make them trending worldwide. If you want, you can check out @vlogvaquita for some pre-written Vaquita tweets that you can copy and paste for the Tweetstorm.

Thanks to everyone who plans on participating in ISTVD and a huge round of applause to all of the organizers!

List of Events & Locations:

UNITED STATES

CALIFORNIA
Long Beach, CA
Aquarium of the Pacific

Monterey, CA
American Cetacean Society – Museum of Monterey, Custom House Plaza

Rancho Palos Verdes, CA
Point Vicente Interpretive Center

San Diego, CA (4 sites)
• Cabrillo National Monument, Pt. Loma
• Living Coast Discovery Center, Chula Vista
• SD Natural History Museum, Balboa Park
• Tecolote Shores, South, Mission Bay Park

San Pedro, CA
Cabrillo Marine Aquarium

Santa Cruz, CA
Save The Whales – Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Exploration Center

ARIZONA
Biosphere 2 (10 am to 2 pm), Tucson

HAWAII – OAHU
Marriott’s Ko Olina Beach Club, Kapolei
Waikiki Aquarium, Honolulu

OREGON
Oregon Coast Aquarium, Newport

VIRGINIA
Virginia Aquarium, Virginia Beach

AUSTRALIA
Southern Cross University, East Lismore, NSW
Community Center, Byron Bay, NSW

AUSTRIA
Vienna

CHINA
Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, Hong Kong

MEXICO
Dr. Jorge Urban – Estudiantes Somemna, La Paz

NETHERLANDS
Warnsveld, Gelderland

Thanks to William Whittenbury and the Muskwa Club for arranging many of these locations & making the map below.

Map View of International Save The Vaquita Day 2014

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February 12, 2014

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¡VIVA Vaquita!

*The Muskwa Club has also accepted their offer: http://vivavaquita.org/aboutus.html!

It all started on August 8th, 2010, when I was 10 years old. At the time, I had a really strong fascination with Sperm Whales. I was looking for a way to symbolically adopt one, which led me to the Save the Whales website. In the top right corner of the page, I noticed a picture of a little gray porpoise that said “Help Save the Vaquita!!! The World’s Most-Endangered Cetacean.” I had heard of the Vaquita before from one of my marine mammal field guides, and I remember loving how they looked. But I had no idea they were endangered. I started to read about this mysterious creature called the Vaquita. Something about it evoked an emotion that I had rarely felt before. A mix of fear, curiosity, vulnerability, sadness, and determination. I could not believe it was so rare, and that is was still decreasing. How could this be happening? I knew that I had to help it.

I scrolled down and clicked on the link to ¡VIVA Vaquita!, where I was captivated even more. I entered this into the contact box, “How much money is usually donated? Is $30 good? And can I learn more about vaquitas? Thanks!” A few days later, I received a package from Dr. Thomas Jefferson, containing a bunch of things to help me learn about the Vaquita, such as some brochures and a magazine that focused on them. I was hooked. A little over a year later, on September 27th, 2011, I started the website that you are reading this post on. I have always been obsessed with ¡VIVA Vaquita! and look up to them like a celebrity, which they are, in my eyes.

They are the world’s leading Vaquita conservation group, and their work is unparalleled in the activism community. That is why their email to me last night completely shocked me. They invited V-log to become an official member of ¡VIVA Vaquita! I hope our new partnership will create some amazing new opportunities, and I will be sure to keep everyone updated. I would like to thank ¡VIVA Vaquita! again for continuous inspiration and for asking me to join their incredible organization!

In other news, the Muskwa Club will have some big announcements coming within the next few months, so stay tuned.

VIVA Vaquita

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February 9, 2014

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How to draw a Vaquita

I have been doing a lot of Vaquita artwork recently, so much, in fact, that I have developed a method for drawing this little porpoise. I have created a “How-to-draw a Vaquita” guide for all of you artists out there that are looking to make some Vaquita art. Obviously, this is not a definitive guide, it is just how I draw Vaquitas.

Before anything, you need to figure out exactly what you want the picture to be. You can base your drawing/painting on a photograph, but in this guide I will be drawing a generic Vaquita that can be used for any pose. All I will be using is a pencil and my fingertip.

1. Firstly, you need to draw a rough outline of the body. This needs to be very light. Don’t worry about it not being perfectly smooth yet. Don’t draw any external details, such as stripes or eye-patches. Just the outline. This will take a lot of practice to get right, so don’t give up if you need to erase the outline 10 or more times. A very useful tip is that the mouth is always smiling and pointed directly at the eye, which is slightly above the imaginary horizontal center line of the head.

Step 1

2. Next you will start adding detail. I prefer to start with the face and work towards the tail fluke. It is very useful to look at a bunch of photographs to get a good idea of what their individual body parts look like. The key points on the head are the eye-patch, mouth-patch, chin-to-flipper stripe, and the tiny ear hole, which is commonly forgotten. Also, begin the dark back, which is basically an extension of the mouth-patch.

Step 2

3. Take this time to make sure your pencil is very sharp. Redefine all of the details you already made, especially shadows. When you are coloring the back and flipper, make sure you rub the paper very hard with your fingertip to make the texture smoother. Now you can add the lighter gray to the face simply by rubbing, due to the excess lead on your finger. You can also add shading to the underside of the body with the rubbing technique, and the shine on the back by erasing lightly. You can also use the eraser to add subtle touches to the facial pattern, such as a ring around the eye-patch. Don’t forget to show hints of finger bones in the flipper. It is important that you know where the light source is coming from. In this case, the “sun” is above and to the right of the Vaquita, so I have the dark shading on the opposite sides of the light source (bottom left) of every curve. This is especially noticeable on the flipper.

Step 3

4. Next you need to work on the body. Use the same technique as the head: draw then rub. Make sure you are still looking at some pictures to get an idea of the color pattern. Vaquitas have a dark back, with light gray sides fading to a white belly. Make sure you continue the shine by erasing lightly, as well as drawing subtle muscles. Your fingertip should be pitch black as you are working on this. Next, you can work on the dorsal fin as well as any scars or markings for additional realism.

Step 4

Step 5

5. The final step is the tail stock and fluke. Pay close attention to the muscles and ridges of the tail stock, because the shading and lighting is crucial to making it seem real and 3-dimensional. There is a ridge along the vertebrae called a dorsal ridge, as well as a caudal keel, which is a ridge on the side of the tail stock connecting to the fluke. The fluke is basically flat, giving it a more uniform color than other body parts. When you are done with this, take a few minutes to overview the entire drawing. Squint, turn it upside down, take a photo of it, or ask someone else what they think; anything to help get a new perspective of the overall work of art. When you feel like you are completely content with your drawing, breathe a sigh of relief: you drew a Vaquita! Obviously your second try will be better than your first, third better than second, and so on, so stay patient. And of course, I would love to see your masterpiece! Please send your drawings to me at gl.tamarin123@gmail.com, as always.

Step 6

Here is my finished piece.

Finished

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January 2, 2014

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#SaveTheVaquita Tweetstorm recap

Were you one of the hundreds and hundreds of people who participated in the #SaveTheVaquita Tweetstorm last night? If so, thank you so much, and if not, you can still tweet the hashtag #SaveTheVaquita to help!

The Tweetstorm was an outstanding success! I can’t believe how many people wrote about the Vaquita in one night! We got over 1,500 tweets (not even including retweets) with the hashtag #SaveTheVaquita, and countless more people read those tweets. We were getting about 250 tweets per hour! People are still tweeting as you read this! You can read all of the #SaveTheVaquita tweets here: https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SaveTheVaquita&src=typd&f=realtime.

Seeing as many of the #SaveTheVaquita tweeters have thousands of followers, the viewership was literally exponential. My aunt coincidentally texted me saying that she saw a Vaquita tweet (she knows about it from my book), and little did she know that it was because of a Tweetstorm that I helped create! If my aunt, who had no idea about the Tweetstorm before our conversation, saw a tweet about the Vaquita, who knows how many other people did! Some famous people in the cetacean world joined the storm, such as @jeffrey_ventre and @Sam10k, both former SeaWorld trainers turned anti-captivity, who are in the revolutionary documentary Blackfish.

Unfortunately, the hashtag did not go trending worldwide, though it likely did locally in multiple locations. When I started to type in the hashtag, #SaveTheVaquita was one of the first suggestions, meaning it was very popular last night. I just want to thank everyone who tweeted for the world’s most endangered marine mammal, especially the people who tweeted more than once (you know who you are), because you really made a difference! Muskwa and I are already planning the next Tweetstorm!

Thank You

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December 21, 2013

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Vaquita carving

As far as I know, there are no Vaquita carvings on the planet. Until today. It may have taken more than 22 hours over the period of a week, but my dad finally finished carving the first wooden Vaquita. It all started with a 2×4 from our garage, which I drew the outline of a Vaquita on. Next, my dad used a jigsaw to cut out the general outline, then with a file and carving knife he slowly but surely created the form of a porpoise. After a lot of muscle cramps and sandpaper, he finally finished the carving. Lastly he painted it with many layers of black, gray, and white, taking about 5 hours. I just want to thank my dad for taking so much time on this beautiful carving. Below is a timeline of the finishing processes.

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December 9, 2013

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New Vaquita short film!

In October I posted Chris Johnson’s new Vaquita short film. You can read that post here: https://vlogvaquita.com/2013/10/07/new-vaquita-short-film/. The video was taken down for a little while, but was re-launched on December 8 at the Society for Marine Mammology Conference in Dunedin, New Zealand. You can read all about the extraordinary video, and of course watch it, on the Whale Trackers blog (also below): http://www.whaletrackers.com/new-vaquita-short-film/. Please share!

Also, Argent Aqua Jewelry just came out with an update to this pendant: a Vermeil and diamond Vaquita. Quite a holiday gift, and $12.25 from each purchase goes to Vaquita conservation!

Please don’t forget to think about the Vaquita over the holidays. I know it is hard to worry about a porpoise while you are chowing down on a warm apple pie, but the little things really do make a huge difference. For example, you can Adopt-a-Vaquita for someone as a gift, or donate a few dollars from a Christmas card to ¡Viva Vaquita!. Maybe make a Vaquita-conscious holiday meal, buy a beautiful Vaquita item from ¡Viva Vaquita!’s gift store (with the new Memuco collection), or easiest of all, write a Facebook post or Tweet about everyone’s favorite critically endangered porpoise. And please, show us what you did! Leave a comment or shoot me an email at gl.tamarin123@gmail.com saying the wonderful things you came up with this holiday season!

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December 4, 2013

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Updated 8-bits

First of all, I know I am writing a lot of short posts right now of basically only artwork. Hopefully I will be writing more long posts soon, as the last few weeks in the Vaquita world have been relatively slow.

I am considering creating a series of digital paintings of endangered and/or very interesting cetaceans in pixel form. Below are what would be the first two entries, the Vaquita (a huge update from the last one) and the Maui’s Dolphin, both large and thumbnail sized. And who knows…the Vaquita could be used in the app!

8-bit Vaquita

8-bit Maui's Dolphin

8-bit Vaquita thumbnail

8-bit Maui's Dolphin thumbnail

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November 19, 2013

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Vaquita art

I don’t think there is a better way to share an idea than through visual art. Something about an image evokes a feeling that cannot be accessed any other way. Getting out the message to save the Vaquita has proven to be quite difficult, especially through writing. So now I will be starting to draw a lot more Vaquita pictures and make as many Vaquita crafts as I can. I really hope all you artists out there will help me on my mission to spread the word. I have recently set up an account on the amazing site deviantART: http://goldenliontamarin.deviantart.com/, where I have posted and will continue to post my Vaquita artwork. I strongly encourage everyone to make some sort of Vaquita art and email it to me at gl.tamarin123@gmail.com. Get your kids to make something too! Sometimes a child’s drawing makes even more of an impact than an adult’s. I have started off the endeavor with a Vaquita word cloud.

What will you do?

Vaquita Word Cloud

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November 9, 2013

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American Cetacean Society

The American Cetacean Society is one of the leaders in Vaquita conservation. Founded in 1967 and comprised of 7 chapters and a Student Coalition, they are the world’s first organization dedicated to saving whales. Here are the links to the chapters:

Los Angeles
Monterey Bay
Orange County
Puget Sound
San Diego
San Francisco Bay
Oregon
Student Coalition

The Monterey Bay Chapter was one of the 3 founding members of ¡Viva Vaquita!, and the Los Angeles Chapter has been an extremely helpful ally to the Muskwa Club. The American Cetacean Society has two publications, the quarterly newsletter, Spyhopper, and the biannual, theme-specific Whalewatcher. In 2010 they published a Whalewatcher about porpoises, especially the Vaquita. The two most recent Spyhoppers also featured amazing articles about the Vaquita:

Viva Vaquita by Ayla Glim, Pages 6-8: http://acsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/SpyhopperQtr2-2013-FINAL_2.pdf

Vaquita, Net Gains and Net Losses by Barbara Taylor, Pages 1-5: http://acsonline.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Spyhopper-Nov.-2013.pdf

The November issue shocked me with these few paragraphs!

“For the first time since I’ve been working with Vaquita there are some concrete steps that people from outside Mexico can do (or will be able to soon), and here are three things you can do to help:

1. Support Vaquita-safe seafood products
Fishermen are more likely to convert to Vaquita-friendly fishing gear if there is market incentive to do so. WWF Mexico (http://wwf.panda.org/who_we_are/wwf_offices/mexico/?208988/Mexico-approves-measure-to-save-worlds-rarestmarine-mammal) with funds from the US Marine Mammal Commission and several private foundations are planning a series of events to promote Vaquita-safe seafood. The hope is that this will do for Vaquita what ‘dolphin-safe’ labeling on cans of tuna did for millions of dolphins in the eastern Pacific. These events will feature top chefs serving Vaquita-safe shrimp alongside Vaquita wine. The idea is to connect the fishermen who are sustainably harvesting seafood with outlets that cater to conscientious consumers, and rewarding those fishermen with a bit higher price for their value-added product. The events will need planning, labor, and folks to enjoy the food.

2. Establish and support grassroots education and fund-raising campaigns
There is a need for educating the public about Vaquita. Last year saw the first “Save the Vaquita Day” initiated by a grassroots effort by elementary, middle and high school students of the Muskwa Club founded in Long Beach, California https://sites.google.com/site/muskwaclub/ with the support from several ACS chapters. The Muskwa Club even made a nice video, which can be seen at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj3T724txo4. This tri-coastal campaign reached thousands of people through Vaquita events and we can hope that this effort grows. These events and future plans can be seen on the website above and in the ACSLA Chapter report. The group ¡Viva Vaquita! (http://www.vivavaquita.org/) also continues to attend events and do programs in schools to raise awareness, and has just distributed educational brochures and coloring books to schools near the fishing port of San Felipe, Mexico. A kindergarten class at Frances Parker School in San Diego adopted Vaquita as their special project and raised funds. The Marine Mammal Center (TMMC http://www.marinemammalcenter.org/), can accept funds by sending checks to Frances Gulland at their address with a note that the funds are for saving Vaquita. A few times a year, TMMC will transfer those funds to support WWF-Mexico projects aimed at training shrimp fishermen in the northern Gulf how to use alternative gear. Vaquita.tv continues to be an excellent source of on-line information and a great place to send people who want to learn more about Vaquita and the people’s needs in the northern Gulf.

3. Stay informed; stay involved
The other important role for cetacean fans is to be avid (even pesky!) consumers and purveyors of Vaquita information. Both the IUCN and the Society for Marine Mammalogy have repeatedly written letters to the Mexican government – but letters from other concerned citizens and organizations are needed to keep this issue on the front burner in Mexico. Vaquita needs an informed fan base to keep its status in the spotlight, to make clear that there is international interest in fate of this hapless porpoise, and that the eyes of the world are on Mexico over this issue. An inspirational example of citizen involvement is Aidan Bodeo-Lomicky, a 13-year old boy from Pennsylvania who has just written a book and maintains a blog https://vlogvaquita.com/ on Vaquita conservation!”

The Muskwa Club and I are very excited and grateful to see these new progressions (and the shout outs!), as well as all of the work the ACS has done in its legendary history. Please consider donating to them: http://acsonline.org/support-acs/donate-online/, as well as the ACSLA’s Vaquita switch-out fund by sending a check to P.O. Box 1208, San Pedro, CA 90733-1208. It is very important that you write “Vaquita” on the memo line for it to go to the switch-out.

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November 7, 2013

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Point Vicente Interpretive Center

My book is now being sold in the Point Vicente Interpretive Center! The Center, located in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, adjacent to the Point Vincente Lighthouse, is dedicated to teaching its visitors about the history of the Palos Verdes Peninsula. They hosted one of Muskwa’s Vaquita tables on July 6 for National Save the Vaquita Day, and have been a very useful ally in our efforts. They will now be holding my book in their gift shop!

In addition, the gift shop will be having a book signing this Saturday, November 9, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, where you can pick up a pre-signed copy of my book (I obviously cannot be there, considering I am 2,726 miles away). If you live in the area, please stop by to explore the Center and get a copy of the world’s first Vaquita book!

Also, please subscribe to TheMuskwaclub on YouTube. They have some great videos, including The Vanishing Vaquita. You do not need to have a YouTube account to subscribe. If they reach 100 subscribers, they can begin some awesome new projects that will be very entertaining and informative.