The formalin has been pumped out of the tank and the squid will be rinsed in fresh water before the lift on Wednesday.
Preparing the pump - 3170 - © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008
Mark Fenwick checking the squid as the formalin level drops - 3171 - © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008
The squid emerges - 3172 - © Copyright Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, 2008
The specimen looks to be in good condition (considering!). The sucker rings and hooks are intact, so the buffering of the formalin solution worked well. The rip in the mantle is larger than we thought, so turning it over on Wednesday is going to be a tricky task!
Tomorrow we will be setting up the webcams…
One Comment
That is a great idea! I’ve got about 21 nieces and nehwpes that would think that was super fantastic. My next sleep-over with some of them may have to have some squid dogs since my niece Aubrie is OBSESSED with “aminals”. And this would be timed fairly well as she’s been sharing lots of info about sperm whales lately. Yep, sperm whales.