Kickstarter

For more than a decade, I have dedicated myself to telling the stories of little-known, endangered animals around the world. My mission with this project is to document - for the first time - the life history of one of the world's most bizarre, and rarely-seen, large mammals: the Giant Armadillo. Four feet long and weighing up to 90 pounds, they would seem hard to miss -- yet almost nothing is known about them: their social, feeding, and breeding behavior, all remain a mystery.  (Many ranchers who have spent their entire lives in areas where the animals live have never seen one.) The fact is, scientists don't even know how many of them are left!

On a scouting trip last September I not only managed to see one, but came away with a handful of camera trap photos - among the first ever taken in the wild. Now, working with a team of scientists beginning the first-ever in-depth study of these mysterious animals, I want to return to Brazil during the next dry season. Using an array of camera traps, and following the animals at night, I hope to open a window into their lives, capturing - for the first time - the secret world of a nocturnal giant. 

I will be shooting with both still and video cameras with a goal of producing a short video about the animal and its conservation, and ultimately a book on these "Giants of the Dark." My goal is to raise awareness of these threatened animals, and make the case for their protection. To do that I need your help!  

By supporting this project, you can have the real satisfaction of playing a key role in an important science and media project that can make a real difference for the Giant Armadillo. I would welcome your input into the project, and will be sure to keep you informed on our progress, through email reports, video updates and a dedicated blog. I've also put together a variety of rewards to make you feel better connected. I'd love to have you be part of my team!

Meanwhile, I have a pretty strong track record: my groundbreaking story on Amazon River Dolphins was featured in the June 2009 issue of National Geographic, and my work is regularly published in all the best nature and science publications worldwide.  I have also published five books of photography including Penguin Planet, which won the National Outdoor Book Award.  

To see more of my work, visit my website at Kevinschafer.com or on Facebook. Thanks!

In the meantime, here are some images of other endangered animals I have covered around the world:

Amazon River Dolphins, Brazil

Southern Cassowary with Chicks, Australia

Maned Sloth, Brazil