What do biomedical scientists with more letters after their name than space on the page do in their spare time? They take photos that tell stories of the curiosity of penguins, the wonder of whales, leopard seals speeding through the water, and magnificent albatross soaring across the sky before dipping low towards the ocean. And they laugh a lot about how people still don't get that polar bears and penguins live at opposite ends of the planet.
Having travelled to the Antarctic three times and Arctic five times, without fail, every time Elane Zelcer set off on each trip, at least one of her friends would say, “Wow, you’re going to the Arctic – you’ll see so many penguins!” or, “You’re going back to the Antarctic, be careful of the polar bears!”
Elane is both a scientist and an accomplished amateur photographer, and lockdown gave her the idea to put some of her favourite photos into a book - suitable for 12 to 112-year-olds and share the wonder and magnificence of these amazing ends of our planet, using the photos and stories of her travels to both places. And to use the funds to raise money for a children's research institute.
Do Penguins Scare Polar Bears is on Pozible until 20th December. It's goals are very modest and have already been passed.
Every book sold is helping the Murdoch Children's Research Institute - the largest child health research institute in Australia and one of the top three worldwide for research quality and impact. MCRI's team of more than 1200 talented researchers is dedicated to making discoveries to prevent and treat childhood conditions including cancer, diabetes, allergies, asthma, premature birth, mental health problems and genetic disorders.