The Mouse-Free Marion Project celebrated World Albatross Day this month with seven art posters
Above picture: The first in the series. “Albatross: Skyward Grace” by Deepti Jain
The Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion (MFM) Project is working towards eradicating the sub-Antarctic island’s introduced House Mice that in recent years have taken to attacking and killing its threatened albatrosses and petrels. As part of the MFM Project’s ongoing efforts to create awareness and raise funds it has been celebrating World Albatross Day held on 19 June (WAD2025) all of this month.
Last year over November and December the MFM Project collaborated on a Special Project entitled “Conservation Campaign for Marion Island” with the international collective Artists & Biologists Unite for Nature (ABUN) to produce artworks depicting Marion’s biota and landscapes to help promote the island’s conservation importance. Of the 43 artworks submitted by members of ABUN, seven by different artists have been chosen to illustrate WAD2025 posters; two of which are featured here.
Deepti Jain
The first poster (featured at top) is by Deepti Jain and is entitled “Albatross: Skyward Grace”. It depicts an Endangered Grey-headed Albatross Thalassarche chrysostoma flying over Marion’s coast with mouse-free Prince Edward Island on the horizon. Deepti, who resides in Mumbai, India, describes herself “as a self- taught and realistic artist who loves to work with soft pastels, charcoal and watercolours to create memorable portraits, vivid landscapes, magnificent wildlife, alluring still life and self-depicting illustrations. My artworks reflect my passion for wildlife, nature and creativity.”
“White-chinned Petrel Resting” by Brazilian artist, Flávia F. Barreto, after a photograph taken on Marion Island by Ben Dilley
All seven posters can be freely downloaded from a photo album on the MFM Project’s Facebook page.
Flávia F. Barreto
John Cooper, News Correspondent and Robyn Adams, Communications Officer and Project Assistant, Mouse-Free Marion Project, 23 June 2025
***********************************************************************************
White-chinned Petrel at Marion Island, photograph by Ben Dilley
The Saving Marion Island’s Seabirds: The Mouse-Free Marion Project is a registered non-profit company (No. 2020/922433/08) in South Africa, established to eradicate the invasive albatross-killing mice on Marion Island in the Southern Ocean. The project was initiated by BirdLife South Africa and the South African Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment. Upon successful completion, the project will restore the critical breeding habitat of over two million seabirds, many globally threatened, and improve the island’s resilience to a warming climate. For more information or to support the project please visit mousefreemarion.org.
