Black-Footed Ferret and Prairie Dog

Now here's a couple that are truly up a creek without a paddle. The black-footed ferret depends on the prairie dog as a food source and for their burrows for nesting, but the extinction of the prairie dog is having a toll on the ferret population by extension. In fact, as late as 1981, the black-footed ferret was considered extinct until a colony was discovered in Wyoming. Much of the demise of both species has been caused by a bacterial plague for which they have no immunity, and by ranchers who consider them competition for the grass that their livestock depend on.

Oil on wood panel, 30" x 40".