TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Pingtung County has collaborated with a local farm and students on an installation artwork by created by placing colored “hats” on 100,000 pineapples to promote pangolin conservation.
The pineapples were covered in colored caps in the county’s Gaoshu township with help from students of National Pingtung University of Science and Technology (NPUST), who proposed the idea for the artwork. UDN reported on Wednesday (Feb. 7) that Hsu Ya-min (許雅玟) of NPUST developed the idea with art student Lin Li-chen (林麗貞) using inspiration from the Lunar New Year.
Hsu said that with 2024 being the year of the dragon, the pangolin was chosen for its dragon-like scaly skin and long thin body. She also noted that pangolins are threatened as a species, and face dangers such as poaching, wild dog attacks, and being hit by cars.
A mother pangolin with a baby on her back is pictured in a Pingtung installation artwork. (Facebook, NPUST Bird Ecology Lab photo)
Hsu said that by covering the approximately 2-hectare pineapple field, she hopes more people will be aware of the threats facing the pangolin. She said that to produce the artwork, 16 people spent nearly two weeks surveying the field and putting the caps on the pineapples.
Pingtung County Magistrate Chou Chun-mi (周春米) encouraged those in the area to board the county’s double decker sightseeing bus to view the installation, which is located at Silver Lion Farm (銀獅農莊) and will be there until March 1.
In a post on Thursday, NPUST’s Bird Ecology Lab said that a pangolin conservation exhibition was launched alongside the artwork at the nearby Pingtung AI Agri Hub. The lab said a marketplace will also be held at the Agri Hub, as well as conservation lectures and film screenings.
A volunteer places colored caps on pinapples in Pingtung on Wednesday. (Facebook, Su Hsiao-shen photo)
