When I came to the Czech Republic for the first time in 2005, I made a remarkable experience that has puzzled me ever since. At the Department of Botany, Masaryk University in Brno, I discovered a beautiful botanical illustration, scribbled on one of the doors in the women's bathroom. It depicted Agrostis stolonifera and A. capillaris, two grass species that are too easily confused by beginners. Several short arrows pointed to the characteristic differences between these two species. A technical botanical illustration on a bathroom door? Czechs must be really serious about botany, I thought back then. And I've scratched my head ever since: Why did this nation of 10 million people produce so many passionate botanists?
I have finally found an answer to this burning question - thanks to our little toddler. Czech botanists are so passionate because of ...
... the little mole Krtek!
In the last weeks, I must have spent dozens of hours reading books and watching videos of Krtek with our little adventurer.
Krtek is both the name of the cartoon-series and the cartoon's hero, a little mole. Created half a century ago by Zdenek Miller, the cartoon soon became a success in Miller's home country, then Czechoslovakia. The story of Krtek is simply yet adorable: Little Krtek lives a happy life in his burrow, surrounded by pristine nature and animal-friends. In every episody and book chapter, the little mole encounters a problem that he masters in his original Krtek-style. He is kind-hearted and always wins over the evil forces (sometimes represented by - guess! - the magpie).
When I watched the Krtek cartoons and books, I was astonished by the details Zdenek Miller put into the illustration of plants. For example, in the episode below, I could identify five taxa to the species level: Galanthus nivalis, Tussilago farfara, Hepatica nobilis, Quercus robur, and even the unconspicuous Capsella bursa-pastoris. (How many species do you recognize?)
Step by step, the full picture came slowly together. I was seeing thousands of Czech children in front of the TVs, exposed to elaborate botanical illustration via Kretek. This explains the botanical mania in the country.
Krtek is both the name of the cartoon-series and the cartoon's hero, a little mole. Created half a century ago by Zdenek Miller, the cartoon soon became a success in Miller's home country, then Czechoslovakia. The story of Krtek is simply yet adorable: Little Krtek lives a happy life in his burrow, surrounded by pristine nature and animal-friends. In every episody and book chapter, the little mole encounters a problem that he masters in his original Krtek-style. He is kind-hearted and always wins over the evil forces (sometimes represented by - guess! - the magpie).
When I watched the Krtek cartoons and books, I was astonished by the details Zdenek Miller put into the illustration of plants. For example, in the episode below, I could identify five taxa to the species level: Galanthus nivalis, Tussilago farfara, Hepatica nobilis, Quercus robur, and even the unconspicuous Capsella bursa-pastoris. (How many species do you recognize?)
Step by step, the full picture came slowly together. I was seeing thousands of Czech children in front of the TVs, exposed to elaborate botanical illustration via Kretek. This explains the botanical mania in the country.
Krtek a zelená hvězda from ceskedeti on Vimeo.
By the way: Although Zdenek Miller denied that he was being political in his cartoons, the environmentalist streak in his cartoons is undeniable.
I wonder whether this also explains the theme of our group's seminar this semester: 'Botany in nature protection'.
I wonder whether this also explains the theme of our group's seminar this semester: 'Botany in nature protection'.