“Intention” - Marbled Polecat
Acrylic on Canvas, 14” x 11” x 1.5"
Original Painting: $1,950
Ready-to-Hang, Limited Edition Archival Metal Print: $350.00
Time to Completion: 3 Weeks
Ounces of Paint: 23
Custom sizes and materials available for prints. Inquire here.
Human Impacts Resulting in Protected Status:
Habitat Loss & Desertification:
The Marbled Polecat’s natural steppe and desert habitats are being lost to farmland cultivation. This is an especially big issue in Europe.
Desertification is when fertile land becomes desert as a result of ongoing droughts, deforestation, or similar. It is the leading cause for the decline of the Marbled Polecat in China.
Rodenticide Poisoning & Hunting:
Secondary poisoning by rodenticides is the second largest threat to the Marbled Polecat populations. Secondary poisoning occurs when the Marbled Polecat ingests prey rodents who have ingested the rodent poison.
In Israel, Marbled Polecats are hunted for their furs, though their furs have no market value. It is thought that hunting could pose a threat in other range areas, but it is unusual, or possibly undocumented.
Conservation Efforts:
Protection & Conservation Programs:
There are a number of protected areas across the Marbled Polecat’s natural range, however, some of these areas are too small to have any significant conservation effects on the Marbled Polecat’s numbers. In these protected areas, hunting is strictly prohibited.
The Marbled Polecat is strictly protected under the Bern Convention, which protects the Marbled Polecat from being captured, killed, or traded in Europe and parts of Africa. The Marbled Polecat is legally protected in Russia, China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia.
In Europe, the charismatic Marbled Polecat is being used as the flagship species for conservation efforts of its natural steppe habitat. Simultaneously, a group of European Zoos have launched programs for captive population management of the Marbled Polecat.
Profits:
Profits will go to Arkive, who work with wildlife conservationists, scientists, photographers, and filmmakers to create a freely accessible record of life on Earth, in order to inspire the global community to appreciate and protect the natural world. Arkive also has initiatives to bring the natural world into classrooms and homes.
Source[s]:
International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, 2016
Encyclopedia of Life, 2017
Wildscreen Arkive, 2017