Wildlife photography book, Remembering Cheetahs to launch in October
By CityLife Arts Writer
A Virtual launch planned for fifth book in the acclaimed Remembering Wildlife series fundraising photography book series Remembering Wildlife will mark the publication of its latest book, Remembering Cheetahs, on Monday, 12 October 2020, with a one-week exhibition of photographs at London’s La Galleria Pall Mall (October 12-16) and an online launch evening.
The fifth book in the groundbreaking series aims to raise awareness of the world’s most endangered large cat. As with the other books in the collection – Remembering Elephants, Remembering Rhinos, Remembering Great Apes and Remembering Lions – Remembering Cheetahs features stunning images donated by many of the world’s leading wildlife photographers.
The series was created by wildlife photographer Margot Raggett, who set out to raise money for wildlife conservation by making the most beautiful book on a species ever seen, after she was moved to take action upon seeing a poached elephant in Kenya. The Remembering Wildlife series now exists to raise awareness of the plight facing wildlife as well as funds to protect it.
Contributors to Remembering Cheetahs include award-winning photographers Marsel van Oosten, Jonathan & Angela Scott, Frans Lanting, Greg du Toit, and Charlie Hamilton James.
Ten of the photographs featured in the book were chosen from thousands of entrants to a competition launched by Remembering Cheetahs earlier this year.
Remembering Cheetahs was made possible by a Kickstarter campaign in spring 2020, which raised £129,060 to fund its publication despite being launched at the start of the pandemic.
Since the first book was published in 2016, Remembering Wildlife has sold more than 18,000 copies and has attracted many famous fans such as Pierce Brosnan, Michelle Pfeiffer, Chris Martin and Russell Crowe.
So far, the books have already donated £628,550/$800,000 (R13,600.000 ) to 40 projects across 23 countries.
Because of Covid-19, this year’s launch event for Remembering Cheetahs will take place virtually, with keynote presentations from photographers Jonathan & Angela Scott, Frans Lanting and Chris Eckstrom, as well as Remembering Wildlife founder Margot Raggett and Dr Laurie Marker, executive director of the Cheetah Conservation Fund, and who wrote the foreword for Remembering Cheetahs.
Lanting will use the platform to raise awareness of a team of cheetah researchers based in Iran – to whom the book is dedicated – who have been unjustly imprisoned there, while working to conserve Asiatic cheetahs and other wildlife.
There are only around 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild. As well as being trafficked as a pet or killed for fur or body parts, cheetahs are impacted by habitat loss and even high density tourism.
In Iran, the Asiatic cheetah is down to fewer than 50, while in India they have been extinct for 60 years. Remembering Wildlife founder Raggett said:
“With only 7,100 cheetahs left in the wild, we must act now. Their plight is incredibly severe, and they need our attention more than ever. “I’m humbled that, despite the enormous challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, we’ve still been able to produce this book.
As with all the previous books, this project is only made possible by the generous donation of images by many of the world’s leading wildlife photographers, working together under the banner of ‘Wildlife Photographers United’.
“We are coming up to the fifth anniversary of the start of the Remembering Wildlife series and, with over £628,550/$800,000/R13,600.000 raised by the project so far, we’re proud to blaze the trail of what can be achieved when we all work together. But there is so much more that needs to be done.”