Sanctuary
Sanctuary, a project composed of three life-size hand-cast resin mountain lions,
is illuminated via an artist-designed solar power system.
Commissioned by the Norfolk Botanical Garden, the installation responds
to the plight of the mountain lion, an apex American native predator species listed as either
threatened or endangered throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Large predators have a profound impact on the ecosystems of their habitats; the loss
of mountain lions, grizzly bears, and wolves has significantly altered the balance of our natural
environment creating an over-abundance of deer and other ungulates. In turn, these animals, lacking a natural braking system on their populations, tend to over-browse habitats and threaten or destroy native plants.