Rodrigues Blue-Black Throstle by Ralph Steadman and Ceri Levy
Rodrigues Blue-Black Throstle - Imagination
Rodrigues Island lies deep within the Indian Ocean 600km north-east of Mauritius. From this volcanic island, our supposedly imaginary creature, the Blue-Black Throstle, erupted in to being, and after a creature has been thought up then surely it exists! Once imagined, it is only if that animal is forgotten and not remembered that it disappears from existence. Therefore, to save the throstle from extinction it must remain in our thoughts and this portrait will help by entering the minds of a whole new audience. Right now, its conservation status is classified as Critically Unimagined. So, please spare a thought for this boid (the true term for an imagined bird) as this will keep it alive. We thank you!
So little is known about the Throstle, but we have unearthed some facts. It was the best friend of the Rodrigues Solitaire, a large flightless bird, whose closest relative was the extinction superstar, the Dodo. But about 1730 the throstle went on a wander, as it is prone to do, and when it returned home about 1760, the Solitaire was extinct. It had been wiped out by tortoise traders, who destroyed its habitat, hunted the bird, and imported cats and pigs, which devoured eggs and chicks. From that day forth, the distraught throstle has wandered the world trying to save animals from extinction by teaching them how to avoid humans and survive. This is known as throstling. But it ain’t easy!
