Excavating a Giant Fin Whale Skull in Cornwall for Science and Memorial

Fin Whale Stranding and Excavation

• 🐋 In February 2020, a young female fin whale stranded and sadly died on a beach in Cornwall.
• 💡 Scientists from the University of Exeter aimed to prevent the death from being in vain, arranging for the whale's transport to a research field.
• 埋藏 Five years ago, the skull was buried on university land in Falmouth as a natural method to clean the bones for study and display.

Preparing the Skull for Display

• ⛏️ Recently, the two-tonne skull, described as the length of a mini bus, was excavated after a ten-hour mission.
• ☀️ The skull has since been undergoing a process of bleaching and washing under the Cornish sun and rain.
• 🎓 The cleaned skull is intended for display on the university campus, serving purposes for teaching and research for students.

Memorial and Marine Conservation

• 💖 The excavation is also intended to serve as a memorial to the magnificent creature.
• 🌊 The whale serves as a reminder of the significant work needed for marine conservation, highlighting international commitments to protect seas.
• 🎯 The display aims to help students and others understand marine life and the threats faced by creatures like fin whales.

Fin Whale Strandings and Population Recovery

• 📈 Cornwall experiences a high number of strandings due to its long, Atlantic-exposed coastline, though most are smaller animals like porpoises and dolphins.
• ⚠️ Fin whale strandings are becoming more frequent, partly due to the recovery of fin whale populations following the moratorium on whaling in the late 1980s.
• 🌊 Recent strandings include a large adult fin whale and a calf, indicating their increasing presence in UK waters.