Alligator replica made by biologist who promotes environmental education causes misunderstanding in BH; understand

The ‘fake alligator’ that made residents of a condominium in Vespasiano, in Greater Belo Horizonte, call the Fire Department, earlier this week, was nothing more than a misunderstanding, as the creator of the sculpture himself reported to the Earth.

Although the confusion took place on “April Fools’ Day”, the replica found on the condominium’s lawn was not intended to be a bad prank, deceive the authorities or scare the population.

In an interview with Earthbiologist Adriano Marques de Souza, who has a company that makes animal replicas for scientific purposes, reported that the alligator replica was found in the garden of the condominium where he lives. “Contrary to what was reported in some media, it was not a ‘hoax’ against the firefighters. It was all a communication error,” he said. “Before the Easter holidays, I placed the piece in my garden for display.”

Souza explains that the sculpture was made to decorate his own home, and in order not to cause problems in the condominium, he informed children, parents and local security guards about the piece that was displayed in the garden. However, a night watchman who was not aware of the replica, upon seeing it, thought it was a real animal, and decided to call the police.

“There was no intention of playing a prank. I invested 4 months of work on this sculpture because it was a personal desire to have a piece similar to the ones I make for museums in my home. I woke up surprised by the repercussion on the internet, since I don’t live there and I found out about the incident from a relative of my wife”, said the biologist, who specializes in amphibians and reptiles.

‘Good’ replicas

Currently, Adriano is the owner of Bios Réplicas, a company that works in the field of making replicas for museums, universities and schools. Its main purpose is promote environmental education through perfect replicas of wild animals.

In the interview, Adriano reported that he had always worked with sculptures, but, during a postgraduate degree in Environmental Education, he began to make replicas of the anatomies of different animals, with the aim of offering a alternative study that does not involve animal sacrifice.

Nowadays, the replicas he made are made from different types of materials. Among them: polyurethane resin, polyester, epoxy, wires and fiberglass blankets.

The manufacturing time depends on the size and quantity of details. There are pieces that require only one day of production and others that require 2 to 3 months. The cost of products ranges from R$50.00 to R$1,500 depending on the size of the piece, time spent making it and the quality of realism committed to the product.

Misunderstanding

Because it is a failure in communication, and there is no intention to cause harm, as in a prank call against the police and firefighters. After talking to everyone in the condominium and the firefighters, the situation was resolved.

Although he was not to blame, in the interview with the news team Earth, he expressed concern about the fact that his replica had mobilized workers and scared people. “About taking some action to avoid any more problems, I believe that now everyone knows that the alligator is a replica. There is no longer any need to do anything ‘except fix the parts that broke during handling’, informed the biologist.

Source: Redação Terra