Galleries Index | Artwork and Illustration | The Stowaway
This is the second Joker card for the Endangered Ark card deck, featuring the brown rat.
It is a very adaptable and intelligent animal, and as a species, thrives in proximity to man. While they likely originated in the plains of Asia, China and Mongolia, the brown rat rapidly spread throughout the rest of the world in the Middle Ages by stowing away on boats and following human migration trails. The brown rat first appeared as early as 1553 in England, and today, it is speculated there is 81 million brown rats in the UK, making it 1.3 rats per person.
It is a very adaptable and intelligent animal, and as a species, thrives in proximity to man. While they likely originated in the plains of Asia, China and Mongolia, the brown rat rapidly spread throughout the rest of the world in the Middle Ages by stowing away on boats and following human migration trails. The brown rat first appeared as early as 1553 in England, and today, it is speculated there is 81 million brown rats in the UK, making it 1.3 rats per person.
