Alo Kraehenmann EAP700 RW September 29

Alo Kraehenmann
EAP700 RW
September 29, 2014
Channel movie (Discovery Canada, 2014), and thereby are reminded of the feat of Dr.
Andrew Trites and his team of dedicated collaborators.
The Blue Whale Project
We go back to the year 2007. The Beaty Museum only existed on blueprints. Trites was
Since May 2010, a 26-meter-long articulated skeleton of a female blue whale has been the
obsessed with the idea to display a blue whale skeleton in the entrance of the museum. The
first impression visitors get from the Beaty Biodiversity Museum on the campus of the
whole museum had been planned around this idea, leaving a space of approximately 90ft
University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver. The museum shows over 500
by 45ft for "the" blue whale skeleton; only: which one? – "Blue whales are the largest
permanent exhibits, as well as a broad variety of changing exhibitions (Beaty Museum,
animals ever to have lived on earth" (Beaty Museum, 2014). However, the blue whale is a
2014). It is the merit of Dr. Andrew Trites (Marine Mammal Research Unit at UBC),
rare species, and finding a carcass of a blue whale happens very seldom. Most of them die
Michael deRoos (Master Skeleton Articulator), and a large team that the impressive
far out at sea, leaving only single bones of the skeleton after a very short time.
skeleton of the blue whale is no longer buried in the clay at the coast of Prince Edward
After a long search throughout the world, Trites found a place on PEI where, in 1987, a
Island (PEI). There, in 1987, the 80-ton carcass was buried using heavy machines. It had
blue whale was buried. In December 2007, the exact place of the grave was located. With
died from unknown causes, and had been washed ashore. Trites had the idea to hang a blue
the help of an excavator, the first samples of bones could be examined, and afterwards it
whale skeleton at the museum. After having performed an intensive search for a carcass, he
was certain: there lied the organic remains of a large blue whale.
found evidence of the PEI whale in a newspaper article. In 2007, Trites and deRoos went in
a crew of four on site to investigate the condition of the skeleton. Finding a promising
In summer 2008, the soil at PEI was not frozen any more. Trites, deRoos, BSc at UBC at
sample was the start for the elaborate "Blue Whale Project" with a thrilling variety of
that time, together with a team went back to PEI. They expected to find no leftovers of the
pitfalls that had to be overcome before the skeleton finally dangled impressively over the
blue whale except for bare bones, no more flesh or whale blubber. That would have been
visitors in the entrance of the museum. However, due to several delays in the Blue Whale
normal for a carcass lying in the soil for 21 years. However, the soil at PEI was not
Project the official opening of the Beaty Museum had to be shifted forward by one year.
ordinary soil, but clay. There exists hardly any oxygen in clay, and without oxygen,
bacteria cannot decompose the carcass. Therefore, the team found nearly 80 tons of skin,
No visitor today would think of the steps that had to be taken, and of the difficulties that
flesh, and blubber, just a little bit decomposed, and stinking awfully. The task of digging
challenged the Blue Whale Project. We recall the past as we know it through a Discovery
the bones out mutated into the immense task of separating the bones from the rest. A first
With the use a high-pressure water blaster, cleaning the bones on the outside turned out to
delay to the original project timetable occurred.
be relatively easy yet very time consuming. However, the major challenge was the porous
bones with a lot of oil filling the pores. Whales have oil-filled bones in order to float
The team members were shocked, as they slowly arrived at the ground of the pit, and
without effort. How could the team get the oil out of the bones?
realised that the right flipper obviously had been cut off using a chainsaw back at the time
of burying. The chance to find all 190 bones of a complete skeleton dropped to nearly zero.
The crew decided to fill a big tank with water, and to add enzymes known for their
A happy coincidence led to a fisherman who possessed a couple of boxes with some of the
capability to decompose oil. A first sample of bones laid in the tank for three months.
flipper bones. Since he also knew where he had found them, they finally found the rest of
When they were picked out of it, they had lost a little bit of oil, but still contained a lot of
the 30 bones of the flipper in a nearby forest. The chances to have a complete skeleton
it. The process turned out to be too slow. Not only have there been several delays up to that
were intact again. However, the timetable experienced a second delay.
point, the task of drying the bones was not yet done, not even for the first sample.
And the next challenge was already in sight as the crew realized that the skeleton had
The project team needed support, and got it from microbiologists at UBC. They suggested
severe damages on one side of the skull. Had this been the cause for the death of the blue
to heat the mixture of water and enzymes in the tanks to 60°C. After a few weeks, the tanks
whale, injuries incurred by a collision with a large ship? And would this imply a new
with the bones were covered with a thick layer of oil. However, the whole process solved
search for another skeleton? No, fortune favoured the team this time: the bones were
one problem, yet created another and even more essential one: the bones were not only
broken, but they were all there. So the chance to reassemble all bones, and in the end also
freed of the oil in the pores, they were also freed of the bearing structures of a bone,
the whole skeleton, remained intact.
leaving the bones mushy and soft. Mainly the skull was severely damaged. The project was
at its most critical point ever. Had they to decide to cut-off the whole idea? With all the
Though a long shot, all pieces of bones were finally dug out, separated from the blubber,
troubles they experienced up to that point the motivation dived, also. One idea was left to
and they were also diligently labelled and catalogued. In a refrigerated container the
save the whole project: Could Gilles Danis, a paleontologist experienced with the
skeleton was transported by truck from PEI to the greater Vancouver area.
reconstruction of dinosaurs, recreate the damaged bones?
A first separation of bones and soft tissues had been made out there on the coast of PEI.
The process of reconstruction turned out to be a full success. All mushy bones could be
Now, the bones had to be cleaned thoroughly. Any material besides bone tissue would lead
recreated. Yet, what about the rest of the bones? How could they be cleaned in the required
to a specimen that would stink terribly, keeping visitors away from the museum.
depth and in a short period of time? One last idea that could work, was to use an expensive
References
industrial vapor cleaner: in a 70°C vapor of a solvent the bones stay for several weeks. And
1) Discovery Canada (Sept 24th, 2014), http://www.discovery.ca/;
this process also turned out to be a big success. With two fruitful steps in quick succession
http://watch.discoverychannel.ca/discovery-presents/raising-big-blue/
the chances raised significantly that on the opening day of the museum a whole whale
skeleton could exist.
2) Beaty Biodiversity Museum, Vancouver (Sept 24th, 2014),
http://www.beatymuseum.ubc.ca/
The plans for the final articulation were made, and a few weeks before the opening of the
museum the skeleton was fully dried out, assembled, and ready for the transport to the
museum. Yet, there was another nasty surprise waiting: the largest entrance to the museum,
a window, was a few centimeters too low. The skeleton became wedged in whichever way
they turned it. After many attempts, they found one very special position of the skeleton in
which they managed to get it through the window.
This happened in April 2010, a few days before the opening of the museum. The skeleton
could finally and securely be attached to the ceiling of the new building. Since May 2010,
the museum has been open to the public, and the skeleton of the female blue whale
fascinates the visitors by its size and elegance. No one would think of the odds the project
had overcome, no traces can be seen of all the incidences the different bones had
experienced. But the team members around Andrew Trites and Michael deRoos most
probably still remember all the different phases of the project, and the many times the
project was nearly undergoing an unsuccessful end. They most probably still have vivid
memories of three busy and thrilling years between 2007 and 2010.

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