Cactus Gallery LA
Keystone by artist Jon Ching
$ 1,400.00
Oil on wood, 24" x 18"
Jon painted this piece as a success story of an endangered species that was revitalized and reintroduced into areas it once inhabited, thus growing their population and stabilizing the environment.
The gray wolf is a keystone species in Yellowstone National Park. A keystone species is an organism that helps define an entire ecosystem. Without its keystone species, the ecosystem would be dramatically different or cease to exist altogether. Such species are described as playing a critical role in maintaining the structure of an ecological community.
In Yellowstone, the gray wolf directly supports other apex predators. Wolf packs hunt elk and leave part of the animal for others to scavenge. Bald and Golden eagles, Ravens and Magpies are raptors that benefit from the wolves kill. Their feathers adorn the head of the wolf. Black and Grizzly bears also scavenge the meat and are represented by their claws in the wolf's necklace. The cascading effects of al these animals within their ecosystem actually changes the rivers and land of Yellowstone National Park. (click the link below!)
Recolonization and reintroduction in parts of its former range, thanks to legal protection, changes inland-use and rural human population shifts to cities have enabled their population to increase and stabilize and the grey wolf now classified as least concern by the IUCN.
Recolonization and reintroduction in parts of its former range, thanks to legal protection, changes inland-use and rural human population shifts to cities have enabled their population to increase and stabilize and the grey wolf now classified as least concern by the IUCN.
