Exhibition "In the Forests of Borneo"
Research in the forest
Research in the forest (you're here) | Bornean orangutan | Birds | Mammals | Plants | Men
Extra content:
Rainforest in Kinabalu Park, Borneo. Dukeabruzzi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
An inexhaustible source of inspiration of every kind
Like all the great naturalists of his time, Beccari had a comprehensive vision of Nature: he did not limit himself to collecting and studying plants, but gladly did the same with animals on behalf of his friend Doria, while also gathering information on Geography, Geology, Climatology, Ecology, and Anthropology.
His notes testify to relentless—sometimes frenetic—activity, yet also reveal conscious intent and meticulous planning of his work.
His curiosity as a young European naturalist was constantly stimulated. Everywhere he went in the forest, he encountered surprising or unusual forms of life: gentle headhunters, singing monkeys, colorful birds and insects, archerfish, giant trees, fragrant fruits, creeping palms, glowing fungi, parasitic, insect-eating, epiphytic, and climbing plants…
Odoardo became romantic when describing what had stayed in his memory, but he remained clear-headed when preparing specimens to be sent to Italy. It is thanks to this great professionalism that today we can still admirethe thousands of samples resulting from his efforts.
The humidity, combined with the heat, then pours not a breath, but a hurricane of vital energy into the vegetation. Who could ever grasp the organic activity silently taking place in the forest at that moment? Who could even imagine the billions of living, throbbing cells struggling for existence in the quiet shadows of the primeval tropical woods?”
Odoardo Beccari, 1902