Can't spot animals? Then know their droppings

 
Published: Thursday 31 March 2005

Can't spot animals? Then know their droppings

-- March 17, 2000. In Seoul, Republic of Korea, thirteen people interested in studying and conserving wildlife got together to formalise what they'd been doing so far: sharing information on issues of mutual interest via the bulletin board of the Green Korea website. So was born Yasomo, or ysm.

After a year of holding seminars and conducting periodic field investigations, ysm 's mission clarified: to recover and conserve the role and existence of wildlife in the country. Since then, this group comprising teachers, students, wildlife veterinarians, film-makers and activists have gone about their job of producing information on Korean wildlife with great zeal.

The zeal is an automatic effect of the need: Korea's economic boom also meant that the country's ecosystems and animals slipped out of the memory of the Korean government and most people. Only recently has the general public has started to show interest in wild animals, but ignorance rules. Children know the giraffe, elephant, zebra -- not endemic to Korea -- but hardly know of the endemic goral, yellow-throated marten, leopard cat and otter, close to extinction.

Thus ysm 's dual focus: tracking species in the wild, and public education. The handkerchief showing animal droppings is a direct outcome of the latter. The etchings are based on photographs group members took during field investigations. It reminds Koreans that animals, too, inhabit the mountains that comprise about 70 per cent of the country, and that their habitats should be preserved. Of course, the money from sales helps the conservation effort. 12jav.net12jav.net

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