On June 12th this month a young Humpback whale beached it's self on a beach at White Rock B.C. just South of Vancouver. The whale had ropes and other fishing related gear caught in it's mouth and had starved to death.
Several days ago the whales carcass was relocated to a beach near Telegraph Cove.
Over the next few days a group of young volunteers will strip a majority of the meat away from the skeleton.
The whales bones will then be put in a large net and submerged in the ocean for several months. Over this time small ocean creatures will strip the remaining meat from the bones.
Then the bones will be reassembled at the Telegraph Cove Whale Museum and put on display with the already impressive collection of marine mammal bones on display there.
Much more information can be found on the internet by "Googling" Whale Interpretive Center in Telegraph Cove or click on this link Family Day Trips – Telegraph Cove's Whale Museum
After seeing these great whales up close in Hawaii I find it sad that this kind of thing happens. I know there has to be a balance between people and animals in the world but we as people do seem to leave a lot of junk around that affects everything else.
ReplyDeleteThese are great photos though and a nice documentary. I never knew how they got the bones cleaned. I would have thought there would have been some scientific way with chemicals or something.
A thought provoking narrative well told and illustrated. Using the skeletal remains to exhibit for an educational tool probably is the best outcome for an unfortunate accident!
ReplyDeleteWell I am glad that the whale's bones will "live" on. Thanks for the post.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Levonne, at least some good will come out of this. If nothing else many visitors to the the whale museum will become a little more educated about these large ocean creatures.
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