Every rainforest has got its own wildlife that is unique from one to another. For instance, in Africa, there are lions, tiger, elephant, and giraffe. Such animals cannot be found in Amazon and New Guinea. Today the western region of New Guinea is part of Indonesia whereas the eastern one is the independent state of Papua New Guinea. The western region is also called West Papua. There are two provinces, i.e. Papua and Papua Barat. There is a forest area in Papua Barat province that has attracted a lot of visitors who like wildlife. Its name is Susnguakti forest. It is located in the eastern part of Arfak mountains. Tourists go there to watch Birds of Paradise and other wild animals. Cendrawasih is a common name for Birds of Paradise. Because of its beautiful colours, the dried Cendrawasih bird is often used as decorative item of the traditional costumes of the indigenous tribes in New Guinea. The images of Cendrawasih is often drawn on the houses of local people, printed on t-shirts, and other garment products and painted on the walls and canvases.
The following is a colored pencil drawing of Lesser Birds of Paradise (Paradisaea minor). I created it using watercolour pencils. This artwork is now available in Redbubble website and can be bought printed on t-shirts, mugs, mask, leggings, iPhone snap case and frame art print, pillow, water bottle and a lot more. If you are interested, please, visit these paradise bird art products in my Redbubble Shop.
To watch Birds of Paradise, tourists in Susnguakti forest stay for at least one night in a simple basecamp. Early in the morning, they have to wake up and walk to the lek of the paradise birds. From the basecamp, it takes less than 10 minutes to reach the tree where Lesser Birds of Paradise gather and dance. Bird watchers, in general, use binoculars to watch the paradise birds. These are very useful wildlife watching gear. Most often birdwatchers bring D-SLR cameras with telephoto lenses.
This is a digital drawing of Moorish Idol (a tropical fish that lives in coral reef). The artwork can be ordered printed on a lot of products on the internet. Here is the link:
Moorish Idol art.
Wildlife watching is a great ecotourism activity. Actually, there are a lot of other interesting animals and plants that can be watched in the rainforest from the beautiful King Bird of Paradise, Magnificent Riflebird, cuscus possum, glowing mushroom, butterflies, beetles, spiders, lizards, and etc.
In coastal area, there are hibiscus flowers and butterflies that are also attractive. A lot of beaches in West Papua have got coral reef. They become that natural habitat of unique marine creatures from colorful fish and various shapes and forms to big frigate birds that soar over the sea looking for wildlife.
To see underwater wildlife, the easiest way is by snorkeling. One needs to wear snorkeling gear to see the fish, plants and other marine animals in coral reef. Actually, coral reef is the tropical rainforest of the sea. Plants in the coral reef absorbs CO2, does the photosynthesis, and releases Oxygen into the sea water. This process is performed by zooxanthellae algae that lives in coral reef.
Both tropical rainforest and coral reef play important roles in our environment. They absorbs our CO2 emissions and supply with Oxygen. Without them, human will not survive on this planet. by Charles Roring
