Indonesian Uses Puppets to Teach Threat to World's Rarest Rhinos

The use of visual storytelling makes the message easier for children to digest and creates a stronger bond between him and his young audience, he said.

"Children have a short attention span; I have to be creative to distract them from their gadgets," he said.

Rhino conservation is especially difficult because of the animals' long gestation period and their tendency to roam, which often leaves males and females separated during the mating period.

Samsudin is also determined to challenge cartoon depictions of rhinos as being lazy and dumb.

"Rhinos are very shy and they have an unusual appearance, but there are only a few of them left in the world, so I want to lift their image and make them special and wise creatures," he said.

'Follow in my footsteps'

After coronavirus temporarily brought the curtain down on his act, Samsudin is now back on the road performing for children.

His show casts the Javan rhino as the main character, with a macaque and a Sumatran tiger for sidekicks, and a hunter as the villain.

One happy audience member was Gelar Dwi Titar Syahputro, a primary school student who watched the puppet show with his friends.

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"It was fun and hilarious. I learned something new. The story told me not to litter and to promise to guard nature," Syahputro said.

Samsudin wants his young audience members to emulate him one day, joining his mission to spread awareness about the environment through folklore.

"I hope among hundreds of children I've met, one or two will follow in my footsteps and join me to spread messages about conservation," he said.

Source: Agence France-Presse