"First Breath" Bowhead Whale and Calf by Brain Kulik

"First Breath" Bowhead Whale and Calf, by Brain Kulik (Inupiat; King Island, Alaska)

   This is a classic scene from the ocean life in the Bering Strait off the coast of Alaska. The idea is that the mother pushes the newly born calf to the surface for its 'first breath'.
   From the Alaska Department of Fish and Game website:  "Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) are the most ice adapted of the large whales spending their entire lives near sea ice in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. Bowheads are the most important subsistence species, both culturally and nutritionally, for northern and northwestern Alaska coastal villages. The Inupiat name for bowhead is "agviq" and in Siberian Yup’ik it is "aghveq"... Unlike most baleen whales that migrate to temperate or tropical waters to calve, bowhead whales calve in the icy waters of the Bering Sea between April and early June during or just prior to a northward migration into the Arctic Ocean.
   Brian often uses his masterful carving skills to create a diorama like this - a presentation that takes his art beyond a mere sculpture.

20" x 10.5" x 10.5"

Moose Antler, Fossilized Sea Cow bone, Fossilized Walrus Ivory, Baleen, Caribou Antler

*This item contains restricted materials and can not be shipped internationally.