Hannah Chen

Perth Modern School

Year 8

sculpey clay, acrylic paint

21 x 9 x 5 cm

This creature, the Muennink’s Protector, was designed for the Muennink’s spiny rat, a critically endangered species from the Japanese Ryukyu Islands. The Muennink’s spiny rat lives in forests, and one of the main threats to the species is habitat destruction – fragmentation and deforestation. This creature provides habitat and protection for rats that have lost their homes. The purpose of this piece is to further awareness of those species that are dying out and which will soon be extinct without efforts towards conservation.