Lars Beusker German , b. 1973
Shere Khan, 2020
Photograph on Hahnemühle baryta paper with Handmade Black Lacquered Wooden Frame, and Museum Glass
136 x 126 cm
Edition 6 of 10
Signed and numbered
Further images
Location: Philippolis, South Africa
Location: Philippolis, South Africa
Literature
Tigers are now one of the 10 most endangered species in the world. With only 3,500 individuals left in the wild in Asia, the tiger is more endangered than any of the African big cats. If current trends continue, they will not survive in the wild after 2050.Tiger Canyon restored a semi-arid region of South Africa to wilderness 20 years ago. Here, 4 Bengal Tigers from India were relocated in the hope of a life in freedom, the return of biodiversity and the creation of jobs for the local population. The protection of the big cats is the catalyst for a whole new vision for this impoverished area and global conservation is looking for revolutionary ways to save endangered species. Here is the required passion, the ability and the skills available to give big cats a habitat and allow them to live in the wild.
More up-to-date than ever is this concept - let's take a look at a quote from Sir David Attenborough in his film "A Life on Our Planet" from 2020: "So to restore stability to our planet, we need to restore biodiversity, precisely what we have removed. That is the only way out of the crisis that we have caused ourselves. We need to make the world run wild again!"
As recently as 2021, the tiger was voted into the "New Big 5" in a global vote. The "Big 5" is an outdated animal selection by big game hunters that defined the 5 most valuable and dangerous animals to shoot: Elephant, Rhino, Leopard, Buffalo and Lion. The project "The New Big 5" has a better idea than killing: it is about photography as a documentation of the highly endangered animals elephant, polar bear, lion, mountain gorilla and tiger.
Shere Khan is for me the dream come true of a tiger portrait. Laying on the ground, eye to eye with the biggest of all wild cats, the blood shoots through my whole body. Just a moment longer! Let him come closer, you want his attention! What a tension! What a result!