Whale skeleton rearticulation
Sperm whale skeleton project
From time to time, marine mammals that have died in the ocean wash up on our beaches relatively intact. While we never celebrate these occurrences, we also recognize that one of the best ways to honor these beautiful creatures is to learn all we can from them. One way to do that is to preserve the whale bones and rearticulate the whale skeleton for research and education.
Project #1: 10.2 meter (33.5′) Sperm Whale skeleton – rearticulated and placed on exhibit at the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC.
The whale was found dead near Cape Lookout on January 30, 2004 and we quickly decided that it would be a waste if we didn’t try to learn as much as we could from this beautiful creature.
And we did learn from the rearticulation process. A lot. Lessons that will help us on our next project and help others who undertake similar projects. Currently, the bones of an 11.3 meter (37′) humpback whale are resting in the Cape Lookout Studies Program offices. But before we consider new projects and new facilities, we invite you to visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC to view the results of our first project. Just be sure to look up. There’s a pretty big sperm whale skeleton (now named Echo) up there that you wouldn’t want to miss!
Whale bones at Bonehenge
For more information on the sperm whale rearticulation project, visit the volunteer created bonehenge website. It was a vital tool in helping us fund the project and report our progress. Bonehenge was the name lovingly given to the sperm whale rearticulation project and the temporary facility we used to prepare and assemble the whale bones of the skeleton.