Blue Whales to the ROM

TZFan

TZFan

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
I know this isn't zoo related but it is tied to animals and education and several of you have mentioned enjoying the Royal Ontario Museum.

Two of the blue whales that washed up in Newfoundland this spring after being killed by ice are going to be handed over to the ROM. The plan isn't fully developed yet but tissue samples will be taken and they will attempt to perserve the skeletons.

It would be neat to go to the ROM and be able to see the skeleton. I'm a person who visually needs to see something to truely apperciate size. It would be very interesting to see just how large they are. But that means they would have to find the space to display it. I will be interested to see what happens.

Newfoundland’s dead (but still unexploded) blue whale headed to Toronto’s ROM | National Post
 
Hope they won't lose vestigial pelvis and hyoid bones! They are often absent at whale skeletons, simply being abandoned.
 
Seems there is an issue with a third rotting whale in Canada, this one a Sperm Whale, which apparently no-one wants and so it was listed on ebay...

Story & Photo here: Bloated whale up for sale on eBay | Stuff.co.nz

A cash-strapped Canadian town left with a bloated sperm whale carcass stuck on its beach has found a way to kill two problems with one, well, whale. Or so they thought.

The gigantic dead mammal washed ashore about a week ago in Cape St George on Newfoundland's west coast.

The 12 metre long carcass, which weighs 25 to 30 tonnes, is the responsibility of the municipality it washed up in.

Mayor Peter Fenwick said the town did not have the funds to deal with it so decided to auction it off on eBay, putting it in the "really weird" category.

Bidding started at C99c (NZ$1.04) and had reached C$2000 before the ad was taken off the site.

It has violated eBay's rule that prohibited items made from marine mammals.

Fenwick said the town also ran into trouble with the Canadian department of the environment, which said selling any parts of a sperm whale was illegal, Canada.com reported.

The mayor suggested the government might like to send someone over to deal with the carcass, but officials declined.

"They've got to sort it out somehow. The uncertainty means it just sort of sits there and rots," Fenwick said.

"I don't know if you've ever seen a whale that's been rotting on the beach for a couple of months - actually sometimes you can't see it for the clouds of flies around it - but you can smell it for about a mile."

Cape St George was hoping to get help from a museum or other organisation that wants the sperm whale's bones for display.

"If we're not allowed to sell it, we're willing to drop our 99 cent price down to zero," Fenwick said.

Two towns north of Cape St George ran into similar problems when blue whale carcasses washed up on their shores.

Fortunately for Rocky Harbour and Trout river, the Royal Ontario Museum stepped in to help remove the carcasses and preserve the skeletons.
Click to expand...
 
For those of you interested in the removal of the blue whales by the ROM heres the first 5 days of recovery of the adult female from Trout River. The writer can be funny, but its the pictures that are interesting.

Day 1 and 2
Dismantling a dead whale, Day 1: Retch count high | Toronto Star

Timelapse video of the work on Day 2
ROM reassessing costly plans to handle 2 blue whale carcasses - Newfoundland & Labrador - CBC News

Day 3
Dead Whale Diaries, Day 3: a ribcage emerges | Toronto Star

Day 4
Dead Whale Diaries: Four fun facts from day four (and one sad one) | Toronto Star

Day 5
Dead Whale Diaries, Day 5: Our favourite dead whale gets a name and a chin job | Toronto Star


Recovering the rest of the skull should happen today and then the ROM staff will know if they have the funds to deal with the second whale.
 
I know nothing about this myself but you could try contacting the company in Trenton, Ontario. They are one of the worlds largest and best at preparing museum pieces. I cant remember what they are called but if you tried google you would probably find them.
 
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