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Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB
January 6, 2021
Prairie Dogs, the Badlands Hoodoos near Drumheller, Alberta Canada. 18H x 24W inches soft pastels on paper. Framed size 27H x 33W inches.
The Canadian Badlands in Alberta and Saskatchewan are recognized for having unusual mudstone and sandstone landscape formations, and also for having the largest deposits of dinosaur bones in the world. The geography in Horseshoe Canyon, Alberta is ancient and incredible, and the prairie dogs – Albertans call them “gophers” – are an influential part of prairie ecology, having extensive impact on vegetation and animal life. They live in colonies of up to several thousand, burrowing in networks of tunnels where other ground-dwelling creatures move in, and rain water is reserved and redirected.
They are cute to be sure, but they are sometimes a nuisance to farmers whose horses and cattle can trip in the holes. Pest control programs during the 1900’s meant their numbers have declined, which had an impact on the grasslands they helped sustain. As their own highways became populated with humans and cars, particularly during Springtime they are a road hazard.
In Torrington, Alberta, one lady has found a creative way to utilize the unfortunate casualties. You must visit The World-Famous Gopher Hole Museum located in the middle of nowhere, in a small hamlet where there is not even a gas station, along a seemingly endless dusty gravel road about an hour Northwest of Drumheller. Gophers are stuffed, sporting handmade costumes and placed in small cubicles displaying historic scenes. Completely bizarre, but actually very well done and absolutely worth the conversation-provoking side-trip if you are planning to visit Drumheller and the Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.
Categories: Alberta, animals, Canada, landscapes, rocks, soft pastels, summer, travel | Comments Off on Prairie Dogs, Drumheller, AB
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