Zeeleeuw met een verzorger in een dierentuin in Londen c. 1860 - 1880

This photograph by Frederick York captures a sea lion with its keeper in the London Zoo. The tender moment they share, nuzzle, is a primal scene, rich with layers of meaning. The act of touching noses evokes ancient motifs of connection and kinship. We see echoes of this in the animalistic representations of gods in antiquity, where closeness with beasts symbolized dominion, and a shared soul. Consider the tale of Romulus and Remus suckled by a she-wolf—a testament to the profound bond between humans and the animal kingdom. This yearning for connection transcends time. It resurfaces in medieval tapestries depicting noblemen hunting with falcons, or Renaissance paintings showing saints accompanied by loyal creatures. The sea lion here represents a continuity—the ever-present desire to bridge the gap between ourselves and the natural world, a deep-seated memory etched in our collective consciousness. It is a powerful, visual echo resonating through centuries of art and human experience.