Critically Endangered
Possibly my favourite of the ones I've done so far. They are known as the four-eyed antelope because of the dark glands. There are none of these in captivity. There was a huge decline in their numbers because of a viral disease that killed up to 90% of the population. Then, because they need a predominately grass habitat they are in danger too. There are attempts to green the area with trees and shrubs and not as many elephants means they are not getting rid of the shrubs that grow. The increase in trees is great for the environment, but catastrophic for Hirola. They have less than 5% of their habitat anymore, and that continues to shrink. They rely on fires happening too, which obviously humans try to stop. They are doing the best in 2 areas of Kenya, but their total numbers are still as few as 200 to possibly 500 or so.
I do find it fascinating to see the difference between the before and after of adding water. As you can see too, I had gotten a good dark brown at this point! So much easier to work with.
I have glasses, though I don't ever remember being teased for having four eyes. I really do though have very bad eyesight. One of the reasons I do pottery is in case I ever lose my eyesight enough that I am unable to paint or draw. I know I will still need a way of doing art, even if I am unable to see what I am working on.