One Last Look - San Joaquin Kit Fox
Ronald W. Schlorff©
Original (10 x 16) - $1150.00
The San Joaquin kit fox is a small arid-land predator that is found only in parts of southern and
central California. Over the past few decades large Federal and State financed water projects
designed to convey water from northern California to support expanding agriculture and burgeoning
human population growth in the southern part of the state have radically altered the landscape in this
part of the world. The kit fox has suffered a catastrophic population decline and today stands on
the brink of extinction primarily due to changes in its natural environment. These changes have
been brought about by the conversion of the grass and shrub land habitats to an extensive
monoculture of cotton and other crops irrigated with water imported from the north. Agribusiness
and residential developments have gobbled up most of the natural lands that once were home to the
kit fox and other species adapted to an environment where very little rain falls each year.
In this painting, which I've chosen to call "One Last Look", I've tried to convey a dual message. The
first message is an obvious one; the second is a metaphor. Endangered species biologists and others
fortunate enough to observe this small cat-like canid in the wild will recognize this characteristic
pose, caught in dusky sunlight, as the curious little animal pauses to take a quick glance over its
shoulder before it silently disappears into its grassy surroundings. Metaphorically, this one last look
may also be tied-in with its status as an endangered species. Unless humankind takes immediate
steps to reverse the population declines of the kit fox and many other endangered species of wildlife
then "one last look" may be all we will ever have to remember these wonderful creatures before they
vanish from our midst forever.
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