Victoria, Canada Wyland Whaling Wall 13

History of the Victoria, Canada Wyland Whaling Wall 13

-A-5 Pod

Wyland considers Whaling Wall XIII one of his most unique murals because captured a specific pod of resident orcas off Vancouver Island. The pod of 13 orcas was known simply as the”A-5“pod, named after the dominant whale in the group, a massive male displaying a large, distinctive six-foot dorsal fin with a nick. Each pod member was painted in its actual size with its features. For instance, the mother of the baby orca in the lower left corner of the mural has been nicknamed “Sharky” by the public because of her shark-shaped dorsal fin. The mural was done withn leading research scientists such as Mike Bigg for a detailed depiction of these apex cetaceans. “Mike had decades of experience studying these animals in the wild,” Wyland says. “He worked on the scaffolding with me, using chalk and photographs of each whale to call out specific markings and anatomical details.”

Renowned wildlife artist Robert Bateman joined Wyland for the dedication of the mural. During the ceremony, Bateman looked up and noticed a bald eagle in the painting that Wyland had painted at the request of the local Indigenous people and said jokingly, “Wyland, I thought we had an agreement – you were going to paint below the ocean, and I was going to paint above. I think you”re starting to take over.”

• Issues surrounding increases in pollution, particularly in the Strait of Georgia dwindling stocks of salmon, and capture of orcas for marine parks dominated the news in the area around Victoria, British Columbia, when the A-5 Mural was painted. The Wyland mural helped refocus attention on these conditions as Canada continued pursuing legislation like the — to help bring local ecosystems back into balance.

Whaling wall 13

Victoria, BC, Canada
130 Feet Long x 7 Stories High
Dedicated June 20, 1987
In Memory of Robin Morton
Dedicated by Robert Bateman, Artist

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