A painting to save the seabirds

Jacha was approached by Mouse-Free Marion to produce some artwork for their Flock to Marion 2025 Voyage, where a selection of people were allowed to visit Marion Island with BirdLife South Africa on the MSC Musica.

This was a 8-day/7-night Voyage with over 1900 keen passengers looking over the decks and spotting the likes of Wandering, Sooty, Grey-headed, and Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, Macaroni and King Penguins, Southern and Northern Giant Petrel, Salvin’s and Antarctic Prion, and Blue and Kerguelen Petrel, as well as a wide variety of cetaceans.

The vessel returned on 31 January 2025. This voyage primarily served as a fundraising and awareness campaign, the voyage raised over R9 000 000 through various sources for conservation causes, a staggering sum and testament to the importance of the Mouse-Free Marion Project, and the generosity of it’s passengers.

Jacha donated his Wandering Albatross to this campaign to be auctioned in aid of Mouse Free Marion. The painting had an original value of R12,000 (£523), but Jacha was fortunate that the painting sold for R20,000 (£875). We are glad that the painting resonated with the buyer, and we would like to extend our thanks to the buyer Chloe for raising such a large amount for Mouse-Free Marion. The cause is close to Jacha’s heart from his past time on the Marion 43 team where he dedicated his time to saving the seabirds from invasive species, and he is thrilled to be able to extend his work from home.