Whale of a project

The 12-meter-long skeleton of a young fin whale that washed up dead in Haifa Bay will be dug up and transported to the University of Haifa for preservation.

By MIRIAM BULWAR DAVID-HAY (TRANSLATED)
In a project described as "extraordinary," the 12-meter-long skeleton of a young fin whale that washed up dead in Haifa Bay some 18 months ago and was buried at a local beach will be dug up and transported to the University of Haifa for preservation, reports www.local.co.il. It will be the first time that a whale of this type and size will be preserved and displayed in Israel. According to the report, the five-ton half-grown whale was already dead when it was spotted in February 2007, and it was towed ashore and buried at the Habonim beach nature reserve, a site where other whales and dolphins are also buried. Fin whales, also known as finback, razorback or rorqual whales, are the second-largest type of whale after blue whales and can grow to lengths of up to 27 meters. Their natural habitat is further west, but some do stray eastward, and over the past decade six dead fin whales have been found along the eastern Mediterranean coast. The report said tractors would carefully uncover the whale's skeleton and the bones would be marked and tagged before being taken away for cleaning and reassembly at the museum. A spokesman said the project would add to the museum's collection of skeletons of marine mammals and would increase scientists' skills in preserving large skeletons, helping them prepare for their next, even bigger project - removing the complete skeleton of a 14-meter-long fin whale that was buried at the beach after being found dead in Haifa Bay eight months ago.