Critically Endangered
The same things that made the Christmas Island Pipistrelle go extinct (feral cats, yellow crazy ants, development, and phosphate mining) are what threaten this bat as well, and the threats are currently winning. When assessed June of 2008 they were only listed as Vulnerable. As of 2014 they had their status changed to critically endangered. They are the last endemic mammal for the island and are a necessary pollinator.
My oldest son asked me to paint this one. I made him give me input on how it would be composed and how it would look. I gave him the option of the bat being wide awake, yawning, just a little blep of a tongue sticking out, or this...falling asleep. I also asked him whether he wanted it with the wings partially covering the body or this totally wrapped up look. He approved of the final results. that said, if there is a critically endangered, extinct in the wild, or extinct (as of 1900) animal that I have not painted yet, feel free to suggest it! Odds are I have it on my "to-paint" list, but I am always happy to add another one and just a day ago a friend suggested one for me to do that I hadn't looked into yet. I welcome ideas and if you have any old science books with information on animals that are unavailable on websites that would be amazingly helpful.
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