Belgian Model sent to an Egyptian jail for a naked photoshoot at a temple in Luxor (Details, pics)

A Belgian model who was jailed in Egypt after a nude photoshoot inside a temple has lent her naked body to raise money towards saving wild animals in Africa.

Marisa Papen hopes to raise awareness of the decline in exotic species in wildlife parks in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by taking her clothes off and posing with fake animals for a calendar. She took part in the shoot just months after a naked photo session inside in a temple complex in Luxor, in Egypt saw her spending a night in a prison cell. Ms Papen said: 'In Congo they do not promote safaris like they do for example in South Africa.

'The government does not care very much what happens with the flora and fauna, as there is little profit to be made out of it. So for her 2018 nude calendar, Ms Papen teamed up with Robert Muir, the British biologist and CEO of Forgotten Parks Foundation, an organisation which protects wildlife and tries to enhance the management of 'forgotten' National Parks in partnership with governments and local communities.

Ms Papen said: 'For hundreds and thousands of years these African Savannahs were overflowing with wildlife. However, thanks to man's destructive ways, these animals are completely disappearing.' In the two parks where Ms Papen is pictured, Upemba and Kundelungu, the animal population is in steep decline.

The last lion was seen in the park in 1973, and the last rhinoceros in 1954, all thanks to deforestation, poaching and climate change. Besides having a huge effect on the ecosystem, the lack of animals also created problems for Ms Papen and 75-year-old German photographer Uwe Ommer.

They initially planned to snap pictures of MS Papen walking nude near some wildlife, but in ten days they only encountered one baboon.

'One of the concepts was to photograph miniature animals in the same landscape. I posed with the thought that the three-centimetre figure was in reality a life-size animal.' Ms Papen said: 'Because we did not encounter wildlife, we had to use our creativity. In some pictures, Papen and Ommer later enlarged the animal figures digitally to resemble real wildlife.

Papen said she was particularly impressed by the energy of 75-year-old Ommer, with whom she spent two weeks camping without any comfort whatsoever. Papen said: 'Him and me together were an interesting combination, creating a grandpa-grandchild look and feel.

'Once in Congo, the logistics were however challenging, as driving just 40 miles can easily take eight hours because of the muddy roads.

And not all went without problems, as Papen even suffered a heatstroke as well as a sprained ankle when walking downhill in the high savannah grass. Papen said: 'When I'm in the nature and I can walk around nude, I'm in my element. But on the third day I got sunstroke, which is weird because I always put on enough anti-sunburn cream and wear a hat.

'The next day I wasn't really aware what was going on, I think I slept for 24 hours straight.'

Papen said she always gets fresh inspiration from 'nature and animals' and explained that walking nude is a great way for her to raise awareness and tell tales about faraway cultures and the wonders of the world.

She said that she talked for hours with Robert Muir about Forgotten Parks Foundation and could see with her own eyes how new rangers are being trained and how local kids are being taught in schools.

Papen said: 'I am 100 percent that the money raised will be wisely spent by Forgotten Parks.'