Vanishing from North America

In our part of the world, the northern half of the Western Hemisphere, wildlife are under enormous extinction pressures. A lot of the problem for wildlife is simple loss of habitat. Human settlements, farming and other use of land have stolen the untrod places from under their inhabitants. In North America, many species are endangered or under severe pressure. It's been a privilege to make images of a few of them and point them out.

Hoff, "Red Wolf," digital painting

The red wolf is not always listed as endangered despite numbering only a few hundred, most of those captive. The animal was actually declared extinct in the wild in the early 1980s but a few have been reintroduced and are surviving here and there. So in any event, these beautiful wolves are few in number and very rare in the wild. Its cousin the gray wolf is also endangered, though reintroduction in several North American areas have proven successful in recent decades. These animals are beautiful, with red touches on their ears and other places in their coats. They seem unlikely to survive in the wild without considerable human assistance.

Hoff, "Western Meadowlark," digital painting

Bird populations continue to decline in the United States and across the rest of the continent, shockingly so. Many species are severely jeopardized now (endangered birds), and some of those are very likely going extinct. In the vast plains and prairies of the center of the country where I grew up a very common yellow-breasted songbird was one of my favorites (above). The western meadowlark is about the size of a robin, with bright yellow on it's brow, throat, and abdomen and a black V on its breast. It sings a liquid note that sounds across the tangles of grassland where it commonly nests. Today the wide untrodden and unmowed meadows that are the habitat for these beautiful birds barely exist and the meadowlarks are nearly gone. I miss them.

These drawings and paintings of disappearing animals and birds continue to sadden yet inspire me. Perhaps they do the same to others.

---
Related
Fearful Symmetry
White Rhino
Dying Out
Jeopardized