Vet paints 42 animals in great race towards a brighter future at Monarto

When you have a stretch of blank wall 32 metres long outside of Monarto Safari Park, what do you with it?

Decorate the entire structure with a ginormous animal mural, of course.

That’s right, over 32 metres, 42 animals are now sprinting, bounding, sauntering, crawling, towards the entrance of Monarto Zoo in order of slowest to fastest.

Not only does it look grand, but its name also carries a mighty message.

“I hope the artwork excites our visitors and gets them thinking about conservation,” Jerome Kalvas, the piece’s creator said.

“The piece is called Monarto’s Great Race and we hope that the animals in it are racing away from extinction rather than towards it.”

A Zoos SA associate veterinarian by trade, Mr Kalvas actually has a special connection with all the creatures depicted.

“In the years that I’ve worked here, I think that I’ve had my hands on, or treated every animal in the mural,” he said.

In fact, he said his work actually helped him create the mural, although it was not without its challenges.

“Being a vet has definitely helped me in terms of getting the animals’ anatomy right.

“I wanted to make sure that everything looked realistic and that they looked like they were in motion.

“The species with the patterns were the most challenging to draw; the giraffe, cheetah and zebra … were certainly the ones that took the most time.”

The piece took Mr Kalvas six months to complete amidst his busy life as a vet and father of three; in fact, he managed to discreetly include his children in the art.

“As well as hiding a pygmy blue-tongue lizard somewhere in the picture for visitors to spot, I also wrote the names of my daughters on their chosen animals,” Mr Kalvas said.

“The names are subtle enough that visitors won’t see them but the girls will know they’re there.”

Monarto’s Great Race is viewable outside the safari shop and when exiting the Zu-Loop tour bus.

The mural is part of the SALA Festival this August, along with an exhibition of safari park’s history in the Saana Exhibition Room.

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