River Dolphin

The Indigenous Tikuna People in the Amazon regard dolphins as gods and goddesses, shapeshifters that can move in and out of human form. The Tikuna give a dance about that transformation while wearing a dolphin costume made from tree bark. Protecting areas in nature that river dolphins need to survive is challenging but critical for their future survival. Herbert Halate's Zuni cedar wood dolphin might be the ocean variety or perhaps a river dolphin. Eyes are from turquoise inlays. A nice size at about 8" long, 2" wide and 3" tall.