EndangeredNFTs FAQ
What are EndangeredNFTs?
EndangeredNFTs are collectable pieces of NFT artwork, created and sold with the aim of raising money to protect vulnerable wildlife.
The first series of collectibles will be all about primates. Each piece of pixel art is hand illustrated by me using Aseprite and will depict an endangered species of primate.
If you’re not sure what an NFT is, check out my blog here.
This first collection will include some of the very rarest and most critically endangered primates on earth. The numbers released loosely reflect their numbers in the wild — the rarer the primate, the less NFT pieces!
You’ll find a breakdown of the distribution of species below, as well as the best estimate of their current wild population in brackets. Obviously, it’s very difficult to determine exact numbers but I’ve done my best to reflect the scarcity of these critters in EndangeredNFTs.
- 13 chimpanzees (less than 300,000)
- 13 gorillas (~105,000)
- 13 Orangutans (~110,000)
- 4 Barbary macaques (~10,000)
- 4 Tarsiers (~10,000)
- 4 Indris (~10,000)
- 4 Aye-ayes (1,000–10,000)
- 4 Gibbons (>2,000)
- 2 Doucs (>700)
- 2 Roloways (>300)
- 1 Golden headed langur (just 50!)
As mentioned, every NFT is unique. Just because there are 13 chimps, for example, doesn’t mean any two are the same. Like the real thing, these NFTs each have their own character and appearance.
In the first week, I plan to run a “like and share” Twitter competition. The winner will be selected at random and will receive a choice of either a chimpanzee, gorilla, or orangutan as a thank you for their support. But, if you folks liking and sharing my stuff around gets me to more than 500 followers before the first drop, I’ll bump the prize to one of the even rarer species! ;)
Who are you?
My name’s Demelza and I’m a tirelessly passionate wildlife advocate who has worked and volunteered for primate welfare organisations all over the world as a caregiver, researcher, fundraiser, and writer. I truly believe that if everyone looks deep inside themselves they will find out that they have a mission on this planet, and for some reason, mine turned out to be protecting apes and monkeys.
Why is this project necessary?
Non-human primates are in grave danger. Deforestation, hunting, and trafficking are having a devastating impact on wild populations. Hundreds of primate species are being pushed to the brink of extinction. We could see many of our closest living relatives, such as chimps and gorillas, disappear within the next 15 to 50 years.
Primates that have been stolen from the wild to be sold as pets or used for entertainment purposes are often kept in squalid conditions and suffer long-term psychological issues owed to the trauma of abuse and being denied interaction with their own species.
I’ve seen first hand the devastating impact of human abuse on primates, and I’ve made it my mission to support any organisation that shares my passion for them.
There are 100s of NFT projects, why should I care about this one?
Firstly, the cause! We’re supporting some of the most active primate charities on the planet, as well as some that are personally special to me based on my time volunteering at them. Unlike other donations from the few NFT projects that do support charities, the majority of funds from every EndangeredNFT sale will go directly to the supported charities and not the artist.
If EndangeredNFTs are popular, I will use this first run as a proof-of-concept to present to animal sanctuaries. With their blessing, I will be able to launch additional series of collectibles in the future.
I’ve also put many hours of hard work into the artwork itself and trying to get it out in front of you all. I just really hope that people take a liking to both the concept and the NFTs.
Your support means the world to both me, and our ape and monkey cousins :)
Why crypto/NFTs?
Without trying to sound too cliché, I really believe in this technology and think it’s the future.
I’ve been interested in crypto for a long time and I believe we can harness its disruptive potential to do amazing things for the good of the planet!
Where will the money go?
Funds raised will be split between the following organisations:
- 25% to the Pan African Sanctuary Alliance: PASA is the largest association of wildlife sanctuaries in Africa. They offer funding and logistical support to their 23 member sanctuaries operating across Africa to save chimps, gorillas and monkeys from hunting, trafficking and habitat loss.
- 25% to The Primate Trust: The Primate Trust is a small sanctuary in India run single-handedly by one amazing lady. She takes in injured and abused monkeys from all over Goa, nurses them back to health and offers them a safe, loving home. I spent time there in 2016 and the dedication of the small team blew me away.
- 25% to Orangutan Outreach: Orangutan Outreach’s mission is to protect orangutans of Borneo and Sumatra while providing care for orphaned and displaced orangutans. Orangutan Outreach have recently announced that they accept donations in crypto.
EndangeredNFTs is in no way affiliated with any of the above organisations. I have chosen them simply because I think the work they do is amazing. However, if these organisations or others are interested in working together on something similar, all they need to do is reach out!
Why aren’t all of the organisations being paid in ETH?
I can prove the transfer of ETH to Orangutan Outreach on the Ethereum blockchain. That’s the power of crypto.
But unfortunately, many organisations haven’t gotten onboard the crypto-train yet and trying to explain the concept of NFTs to the non-tech folks at sanctuaries is tough without prior results.
For this first run, for those non-crypto organisations, I’ll be converting the funds into fiat currency and donating in the old-fashioned way. Of course, I will prove donations as they happen with traditional proof of payment (not very crypto, I know!)
In the future, and once the project is a proven concept with sanctuaries interested, I hope to set up a trustless payment directly to the organisations after shilling TheGivingBlock to more sanctuaries.
Why is the project called EndangeredNFTs and not PrimateNFTs?
I’m a primate girl and always will be. But I see a lot of potential in the world of NFTs and I really hope that this project will take off enough so that I can consider branching out to lots of other species of animals next. Hit me up if you’ve got an idea for a future collection!
And finally….
Please follow me on Twitter @EndangeredNfts and spread the word as much as you can!
Feel free to give me a shout if you have any questions, and also tweet me to share your amazing crypto artwork too ❤
Thank you so much from myself and the hairy ones.
