Wander Wonder
An ode to the champion travellers of this planet Earth and their life stories woven through air, water and land.
by
UNPLUCKED &
Pablo A. Padilla Jargstorf
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Wander Wonder
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We live in an amazing corner of the universe. Full of life. Full of adventures.
And always on the move.
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Have you ever considered how many of its inhabitants are indeed on the move? Looking for food and shelter, looking for mates, looking for partners, or to guarantee an offspring. Escaping danger or even a certain death.
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Sometimes they move very little. But some of these journeys are truly mind blowing, travelling the most amazing distances to new corners of the world, or in the case of migrating species, retracing year after year journeys that are part of their life code, as much as their own DNA.
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The recently published United Nations first ever report on migrating animals throws some starking figures which illustrate the pressures these species face in our current world, with 44% of the 1,189 species covered by a 1979 U.N. convention to protect migratory animals having experienced decline in numbers and as many as 22% potentially facing extinction.
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UNPLUCKED, together with the international artist Pablo A. Padilla Jargstorf (www.jargstorf.com ), invites you to join our Wander Wonder, a collection inspired by all creatures on the move, big and small. Through land, through air, though water, they follow their call to embark on these epic journeys, sometimes with hardly any rest. Navigating with their own unique compasses. We bring you some of these adventurous heroes and look forward to sharing their stories with you.
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Scientific Name: Sterna paradisaea.
Type: Bird.
Measurements: 33-35cm (length); 75-85 (wingspan).
Weight: 95-120g.
Average lifespan in the wild: 20 years.
Diet: Carnivore.
Migration span: a round trip journey of about 30,000 Km.
Threatened species
ARCTIC TERN
ARCTIC TERN'S COOL FACTS
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Arctic terns migrate from pole to pole, having the longest migration of all known creatures on Earth. This means a round trip of up to 35,000 km (22,000 miles) each year.
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Arctic terns can be found just about everywhere as their travels take them to every ocean and every continent. They breed on the coasts and tundra of Arctic and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, then follow the sun and fair weather on their yearly journey to the Antarctic Circle—a trip that takes a couple of months.
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Since the birds often live 30 years or more, the researchers estimate that, over its lifetime, an arctic tern migrates about 1.5 million miles (2.4 million kilometres)—equal to three trips to the moon and back.
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With its long tail streamers and general shape the Arctic tern deserves the local name of 'sea swallow'.
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Arctic terns migrate in groups known as colonies.
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Arctic tern colonies fall silent just as migration is about to begin- a behaviour called “dread”. After dread, all the birds in the colony lift off and leave their nests at once.
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Arctic terns see more sunlight than any other animal on the planet thanks to their migration, which takes them from Summer to Summer.
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Arctic terns sometimes steal prey from other birds by flying right at them and startling them.
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Downy Arctic Tern hatchlings come in two colours: grey or brown. And chicks from the same nest aren't always the same colour
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Scientific Name: Rangifer tarandus.
Type: Mammal.
Measurements: 1.6 to 2.1 metres.
Weight: 109 to 318 kilograms.
Average lifespan in the wild: 8 to 10 years.
Diet: Herbivore.
Migration span: a round trip of around 1200 Km.
Threatened species
CARIBOU
CARIBOU'S COOL FACTS
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Caribou hold the title of longest terrestrial migrants, if we don’t count humans.
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The word Caribou derives from "qualipu," meaning "one who paws”, and was given by the Mi'kmaq indigenous people, inhabitants of eastern Canada and parts of the northeastern United States.
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Caribou spend about 40%of their lives in snow.
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Caribou are the only deer species that have hair covering their nose and the inside of their nostrils, helping warm the air they breathe in their cold living environments.
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Their hooves can change with the seasons, allowing them to walk on ice and snow in winter months, and becoming softer in milder weather.
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Caribou's eyes also change with the seasons. In summer, caribou eyes are golden. In winter, they become bright blue. Blue eyes allow more ultraviolet light to pass through to the eye's colour receptors, helping them locate one of their main food sources in the snow, lichens.
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Caribou have scent glands at the base of their ankles. When they sense danger, they will rear up on their hind legs to release a scent that alerts the other caribou.
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Caribou are the only members of the deer family where both sexes grow antlers, which they shed and consume as dietary supplements.
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Caribou have four-chambered stomachs that help them break down food. Food enters the first chamber, then moves through the others, and nutrients are absorbed into the blood in the fourth chamber.
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Caribou are excellent swimmers.
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Smaller herds of caribou, those with only hundreds of members, might not migrate.
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The domesticated variety of caribou are called reindeer and are herded by humans and used to pull sleds.
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A female caribou is called a cow.
Scientific Name: Danaus plexippus.
Type: Invertebrate.
Measurements: Wingspan, 8.9 to 10.2 cm.
Weight: 0.25-0.75g.
Average lifespan in the wild: 6 to 8 months.
Diet: Herbivore.
Migration span: close to 5,000 Km.
Threatened species
MONARCH BUTTERFLY
MONARCH BUTTERFLY'S COOL FACTS
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A group of butterflies is called a Flutter.
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Like all other butterflies, Monarchs have their wings covered in tiny overlapping scales made of chitin, a protein. These scales make them extremely aerodynamic and help them fly. They are the only insects to have scaly wings.
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Monarchs flap their wings about 5 to 12 times a second, which is about 300 to 720 times a minute.
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Monarchs have a tiny built-in magnetic compass. By sensing the Earth’s magnetic field, they can find the right direction to travel in any weather.
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At the Mexico wintering sites, butterflies roost in trees and form huge groups that may have millions of individuals, huddling together to stay warm.
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The entire egg-to-butterfly process, called metamorphosis, takes about a month.
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Monarchs are the only butterflies to make a two-way migration, like birds do.
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Monarch butterflies use their antennae to smell and their feet to taste.
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Monarchs become toxic, but not lethal to birds by feeding on milkweed plants- Monarchs eat poisonous milkweed during their larval stage, which is stored in the body. The poison, cardiac glycosides, causes predators to vomit, although it rarely causes death.
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The gold spots on Monarch Butterfly chrysalises are due to carotenoid pigments from their milkweed diet.
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Monarch butterfly populations are declining due to a number of factors, including loss of milkweed habitat, pesticide use, climate change, and logging.
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Scientific Name: Megaptera novaeangliae.
Type: Mammal.
Measurements: 12–19 m.
Weight: 30,000 kg (Adult).
Average lifespan in the wild: 80-90 years.
Diet: Shrimp-like crustaceans and small fish.
Migration span: around 8,000 Km.
Threatened species
HUMPBACK WHALE
HUMPBACK WHALE'S COOL FACTS
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Humpback whales eat up to 3,000 pounds (1.4 metric tons) of food a day, and hunt in groups.
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Sometimes Humpbacks will slap the surface of the water with their flukes or pectoral fins in order to stun prey with the shockwave.
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When getting ready to make a deep dive Humpbacks will arch or hump their backs, which is how they earned their everyday name.
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Its long pectoral fins inspired its scientific name, Megaptera, which means “big-winged”
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Humpback whale’s tails can grow to be 18 feet wide and have unique patterns, which have been used by scientists to identify and monitor individual whales since the 1970s.
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A Humpback Whale’s heart can reach almost 200 kg in weight – the equivalent of 3 fully grown men.
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Humpback whales are believed to sleep with only one side of their brain at a time, allowing them to remain conscious and able to breathe.
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Male humpback whales create and sing songs that can be heard up to 20 miles away.
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Each population of humpback whales has a different song, and it's believed that the whales sing to communicate and attract mates.
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Researchers have found that, as humpback whale songs change gradually over the years, all singing members within the same population will switch to the new song.
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While humpbacks don’t maintain long-lasting relationships with their mothers, they are usually found in the same feeding and breeding grounds as them throughout their lifetimes.
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In 2024, a humpback whale stunned scientists with a journey that spanned three oceans and more than 8,000 miles, setting the record for the longest known migration between breeding grounds, suggesting that the epic journey might be linked to climate change(1).
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1- https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/epdf/10.1098/rsos.241361​
Scientific Name: Homo sapiens.
Type: Mammal.
Measurements: 1.7m (Male) & 1.59m (Female), average.
Weight: 77Kg (Male) & 59Kg (Female), average.
Average lifespan in the wild: Great variation, depending on genetics, life choices, geographical location and socio economic status.
Diet: Omnivore
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HUMAN
HUMAN'S COOL FACTS
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Throughout our evolutionary history, we humans have always been on the move- first as unsettled, roaming, hunter gatherers. And once settled, we continued to move, for goods, for knowledge, for love. Sometimes in peace, sometimes in flight for our own lives. And will continue to do so, like animals that we are.
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Based on archaeology and modern advancements in genetics, we are able to establish that our ancestors Homo sapiens left Africa at some point within the last 100,000 years. But it certainly is not a story of linear expansion and replacement. Analysis of ancient DNA has shown that they lived and interbred with others, like the Neanderthals.
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Analysis of the same DNA has also allowed us to compare population genomes with critical migratory events in our evolution as a species, such as the start of farming some 8,000 yeast ago, the ability of modern Europeans to digest the lactose in milk into adulthood, or even the colour of our eyes.
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Some of our traits as a species, such as thinner body hair and more productive sweat glands help us avoid heat exhaustion while walking or running for long distances.
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Most humans have to rely on observational and technological developments to guide them through their journeys, not only for positioning purposes but also to measure time and distance.
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Recent research efforts are trying to map our ability to use magnetic fields in our sense of place and direction, like other species on the planet.
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From the estimated 8.75 million living species on Earth (even though approximately 80% of those species are hypothetical (2), humans are the only travelling creatures on our planet who have any understanding of the concept of crossing national borders.
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2- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3160336
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Scientific Name: Oncorhynchus nerka.
Type: Fish.
Measurements: Up to 84 cm.
Weight: 2.3 to 7 Kg.
Average lifespan in the wild: 3 to 5 years.
Diet: Omnivore.
Migration span: close to 1,600 Km.
Threatened species
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SOCKEYE SALMON
SOCKEYE SALMON'S COOL FACTS
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Sockeye salmon are native to the western coast of North America and are the third most abundant of the species of Pacific salmon.
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Sockeye salmon are social fish and swim in runs together while making their way to mating grounds. They are also known to form social hierarchies during reproduction whereby the largest male fish are usually the most dominant.
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A group of salmon is called a Bind or Run.
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Sockeye are blue tinged with silver in colour while living in the ocean. When they return to spawning grounds, their bodies become red and their heads turn green.The striking orange color of sockeye salmon flesh comes from eating plankton and krill while in the ocean.
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Their strong sense of smell helps guide them back to their home stream. Scientists believe that salmon navigate by using the earth's magnetic field like a compass. When they find the river they came from, they start using smell to find their way back to their home stream. They build their 'smell memory-bank' when they start migrating to the ocean as young fish.
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Females are responsible for parental care. They select, prepare, and defend a nest site until they die or are displaced. Males do not participate in parental care at all, and they move between females after egg deposition.
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Males and females both die within a few weeks after spawning.
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Once hatched, juvenile sockeyes will stay in their natal habitat for up to three years, more than any other salmon. They then journey out to sea, where they grow rapidly, feeding mainly on zooplankton. They stay in the ocean for one to four years.
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A baby sockeye salmon is called a fry.
About the Artwork
The portraits of each creature were carefully hand-drawn. This series of illustrations was created using only watercolour pencils and graphite pencils.
Caribou
Sockeye Salmon
Monarch Butterfly
Human
Humpback Whale
Human
Arctic Tern
UNPLUCKED MOSAICS
We like to consider Unplucked a collection of stories, boxes that once open transport you closer to one of those natural wonders we share our lives with. In the spirit of those cabinets of curiosities treasured by so many in the past.
All these stories are unique in themselves, and at the same time share a common place and a connecting thread.
To reflect that, UNPLUCKED brings you our own MOSAICS. Like looking through the lens of an observation instrument, before focusing on a particular corner of our world. Encapsulating both our curiosity to discover and our eagerness to collect.
Generated from each one of our collections, but all sharing a deep connection, MOSAICS distill some of the essence of UNPLUCKED.
