Art Print – Everson, Sanctuary Hot on Sale

Sanctuary

There are few feelings from childhood more lasting than the sense of safety and security in your mother’s arms. The bond developed through gestation and nurtured throughout infancy is something that many of us are fortunate enough to have felt. Our first views of the larger world were often from within the sanctuary of our mother’s presence. As we grew, we ventured further and further afield—always with the knowledge that we could return to the warmth of our mother’s embrace.

As extremely intelligent animals, it is not surprising that young killer whales develop much the same bond with their mothers as we do. They stick by their side throughout their early years. Their safety isn’t limited to the space beside their mother’s side either. The whole pod works together to provide a sanctuary for the calf. It is in this environment that orcas receive their teachings—intergenerational knowledge that has been passed down from old to young for hundreds of years. In fact, killer whales are one of the few animal species—like humans—that are able to transmit information from generations far removed from the present. They are truly historians.

Unfortunately, humans—while intelligent—are the most destructive species on the planet. We do things to jeopardize the viability of many animals—including killer whales. We pollute their environment with noise and chemicals and we decimate their food sources through greed and poor industrial practices. We have lead the world down a path of irreversible climate change and yet we continue to build our pipelines and threaten the orcas’ waterways with increased tanker traffic. We are decimating their sanctuary and there are no mother killer whales in existence that can protect their young from that….