Wally Skalij, American
Owl on Malibu Beach during the Woolsey Fire, 2018
This work of photography was captured by Wally Skalij on the beach in Malibu,
California. It shows a tiny owl sitting on the beach as the Woolsey Fire approaches. This owl was run out of its home by wildfires and it is seeking the beach for clean air. This image can be used to exemplify the issue of refuge without refuge. For the owl is displaced from its home and is unable to return as well as being unable to survive on a beach. Therefore, he is a temporary survivor, but will ultimately face death due to environmental degradation. This speaks to the larger issue of not only the death of individual animals being an issue in regard to environmental degradation but the death of habitats in which animals themselves can survive. Label by Callie Sties