‘Dera

Writer • Generalist || STEAM • Nature • Poetry • Art • Culture • History • Mythology • Folklore • Music • Storytelling

[Jayarts @therealJayarts]

Lovers Court 💍👰🏾🤵🏾‍♂️🎾✨
My new painting!

[isaac Samuel @rhaplord]

Two centuries before the formal abolition of Slavery, an African prince from the kingdom of Ndongo (modern Angola)
spearheaded an international legal case against Spain, Portugal, and Italy, accusing them of committing crimes against humanity

https://t.co/mYlk2il1I3

[Uzo Njoku @uzoart]

Artwork i made for my traditional wedding to print on gift bags

[National Geographic @NatGeo]

New cat alert! A call from a wildlife sanctuary about a "weird cat" has led to the first new cat species discovered in over 100 years in Bolivia’s Yungas forest ecoregion. Learn more about this feline surprise: https://t.co/crffXvPqH4

[Cairo Mathebula @Cairo_Mathebula]

An underreported positive reason why the birth rate is declining because we are quickly eradicating teenage pregnancy. The decrease has also meant a decline in high risk pregnancies and infant mortality. An important feat to celebrate.🥂

[Nature is Amazing ☘️ @AMAZlNGNATURE]

Chilean photographer Juan Alonso Gutiérrez captures the blood-red eyes of a white-tufted grebe

[Al Jazeera English @AJEnglish]

🧵 THREAD

August 23 marks 100 days since the Ebola outbreak was declared in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The country’s deadliest outbreak is spreading rapidly through communities facing conflict, displacement and food insecurity as MSF warns support remains inadequate.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

The wounds of war and the degradation of the earth are profoundly linked to the condition of the human heart. The conflicts that torment humanity are in many ways the outward expression of interior discord and division. When the heart is distorted, relationships suffer, and the structures we build begin to reflect that disorder.

[Pope Leo XIV @Pontifex]

The world does not need an artificial intelligence that diminishes humanity; rather, it needs human intelligence enlightened by wisdom, political authority guided by conscience and technological innovation directed by charity. Only then will artificial intelligence become not a rival to humanity but a servant of the common good.

[G. S. Babatunde🌕 @gsbabatunde]

I’m a Nigerian wildlife photographer, and every one of these photographs was captured by me, right here in Nigeria. 🇳🇬📸

Through my lens, I hope to show you the beauty, diversity, and wonder of our wildlife—and remind us that these animals are part of our natural heritage.

I hope these images inspire you to appreciate Nigerian wildlife, learn more about the animals we share our country with, and, most importantly, protect them for generations to come.

Nigeria’s wildlife is worth seeing.
Nigeria’s wildlife is worth protecting. ❤️🇳🇬

CREDIT: FATIMA YUSUF

#nigerianwildlife #wildlifephotography #conservation #photography #fatimayusuf #mfatimayusuf_ #nigeriannationalparkservice #wcsnigeria #wildlife

[Aakash Gupta @aakashgupta]

When India accidentally wiped out its vultures, half a million people died in five years.

The bird doing zoomies in this video runs the most extreme digestive system in the animal kingdom. Vulture stomach acid sits near pH 1, strong enough to destroy anthrax, rabies, and botulism in the carcasses they eat. A flock strips a cow to bone in about 45 minutes.

India had 50 million of them. Free sanitation at national scale, in a country where religious custom means most cattle die natural deaths and every dead cow becomes a carcass someone has to deal with.

Then the patent on diclofenac expired in 1994. Farmers started using the cheap painkiller on livestock. Trace amounts left in a carcass cause kidney failure in vultures. Within a decade, 50 million birds fell to a few thousand. The fastest collapse of any bird species since the passenger pigeon.

The carcasses didn't disappear. Feral dogs took the vultures' place and brought rabies with them. Rotting remains leached into waterways. In districts where vultures once thrived, human death rates rose more than 4 percent. Economists at Chicago and Warwick put the toll at 100,000 extra deaths a year and $69 billion in annual damages.

So yes, the goofy bird sprinting down the walkway is adorable. It's also a disease firewall that evolution spent millions of years building and one generic painkiller nearly erased in ten.

[Ik Nnadi 🇳🇬 @NnadiArts1]

And to the 1% who stopped to look:

[‘Dera @profdera]

@marylou916 Happy birthday, Robert! 🥳 I am wishing you a beautiful life, a richly rewarding life, a long life filled with prosperity, fulfillment and peace. You are a blessing in our world. I hope you’re having a fun day!

[Yiyang Zhuge @ZhugeYY]

Here is my interview with Christopher Nolan: are you a bard for a civilization at dusk?

[‘Dera @profdera]

@AnthonyAzekwoh This is fantastic! Well done! I’ve loved the story of Queen Idia, one of the foremost Queen Mothers in the Ancient Benin Empire. It’s lovely to get another bust of this figure. 🥳 May I ask your perspective behind placing her mask on her head please?

[‘Dera @profdera]

Some African countries:
“The Perfect Nine”, by Ngūgī wa Thiong’o (Uganda creation myth);
“Epic of Askia Mohammed”, for Songhay;
“Ibonia” epic, of Madagascar;
“Kebra Nagast”, ancient Aksum, now present-day Ethiopia;
“The epic of Sundiata,” for ancient Mali

[lay: pinned? what pinned? @laymagdalene]

what are black books you would consider “epics”

[Wolf of X @WolfofX]

She looked at her bank account and saw 2 US dollars.

Her son Jonas was about to turn five, and there was one thing he wanted more than anything else. A manta ray plush.

Buying the one he had fallen in love with simply wasn't possible. So that night, Tiffany Holloway sat down with an old blue blanket, a pillowcase, some stuffing, and a needle. She drew the pattern herself, stitched every piece together by hand, and even used two buttons from one of her own blouses for the eyes. By the time she finished, it was around 1 a.m.

To her, it wasn't perfect.

To Jonas, it was.

Later, Tiffany shared a photo of the handmade gift online. She never imagined what would happen next. Messages of support poured in from strangers across the world. Then came the packages. Manta rays, sharks, whales, octopuses, and countless other sea creature plush toys began arriving at their doorstep until Jonas had more ocean friends than he could fit in his bed.

The kindness didn't end there. A fundraiser helped Tiffany get back on her feet, continue her education, and provide stability for her family. She even gave back by supporting Oklahoma Children's Hospital, where Jonas had once received treatment, and helped start the Manta Ray Giving Project to help other families.

[‘Dera @profdera]

Masquerades are embodiments of the customs, spirituality and the traditional religion amongst the Igbos. The prominent Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe’s novel, “Things Fall Apart” showcases it. Additionally, other ethnicities in Nigeria also have masquerades.

[‘Dera @profdera]

Hi there. Thanks for sharing. 😊 This is not a magician, but a masquerade, “Mmanwu”, specifically from the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria. “Magician” is an extremely inadequate and inaccurate description.

[soli @solisolsoli]

West African Magician, 1904

[‘Dera @profdera]

@solisolsoli The Igbo name is “Mmanwu”. On the subregion, you’re correct that it’s West Africa, but it also helps to be more specific about the country. For an intro on this, the prominent Nigerian writer, Chinua Achebe’s novel, “Things Fall Apart”, showcases it so well.

[‘Dera @profdera]

@solisolsoli Hi there. Thanks for sharing. This is not a magician. This is a masquerade, specifically from the Igbo people in southeastern Nigeria. Masquerades are emblematic and the embodiments of the customs, spirituality and the traditional religion amongst the Igbos.