PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FOLLOWING IMAGES MAY BE DISTURBING
The dissection of the killer whale finished yesterday. This killer whale was very young when it stranded and died. It was given to Te Papa by Te Runanga o Makaawhio and measured just over two metres long. Its tongue had flaps like the pygmy right whale I blogged about a while ago. The flaps mean that it was still feeding from its mother. Another clue to its age were the fins, still curled from being inside its mother.
The killer whale calf's tail fin. © Te Papa, 2010
The scientists took several samples of the whale’s organs for testing for bacteria and infections – these could indicate what caused the whale to strand. This whale had bruising injuries to its body and head, most probably from being rolled up and down the beach by the waves.
Dr Steven Raverty discusses bruising sites with Dr Ingrid Visser and Anton van Helden. © Te Papa, 2010
Still, Anton was intrigued by the bruising on the head and one of the Wellington Zoo staff who visited us during the course of the morning was able to hook us up with Massey University in Palmerston North who have a CT scanner. The scientists have gone up there this morning to find out if the head bleeding was the result of a fracture.
- Anton van Helden points to a blood clot on the whale’s head. © Te Papa, 2010
Hopefully we’ll get some images from the CT scanner to post on the blog soon. We are also taking x-rays of the whale’s flippers.
At Te Papa, our scientists practice non-lethal whale research but in New Zealand where there are hundreds of strandings a year, opportunities arise to study animals that have died as a result of stranding. Of course the best way to study whales is in their natural environment, but these kind of dissections can tell scientists a lot about whales.
Today our scientists dissected a baby killer whale that stranded near Haast in 2007. Anton van Helden, Te Papa’s marine mammals collection manager worked with international killer whale scientists, Dr Steven Raverty of Canada and Dr Ingrid Visser of New Zealand.
Scientists dissecting the killer whale in Te Papa's necropsy room. © Te Papa, 2010
I’ll be posting a couple more blogs about the findings of the dissection today. Do check out the link on Ingrid’s name to discover more info about killer whale research.
On Sunday evening 11 May 2008 Te Papa closed Whales|Tohorā. Over 140,000 people had visited the exhibition.
During the morning several killer whales, or orca, played by the fountain in Oriental Bay – much to the delight and amazement of several of the Whales exhibition team members. We like to think it was a sign!
For Te Papa staff and iwi partners who had contributed to the exhibition the closing was a sad and moving event. We gave the exhibition a poroporoaki (farewell) and blessed the taonga in preparation for the tour to the first international venue in Washington DC.
We reflected on what had been achieved and the impact we believe the exhibition has had on so many people. The exhibition’s whakatauki, or proverb, sums it up:
Tere tohorā, tere tangata.
Where whales journey, people follow.
This week Te Papa staff start taking down the exhibition and getting it packed up and ready to travel to the United States. It will open later this year at the National Geographic Museum in Washington D.C.
Whales Fab Fact 8: big fin
The fin on a dolphin’s back stabilises it as it moves through the water.
Killer whales are classified as dolphins – they have the biggest dorsal fin of all whales.
Killer whale cartoon by Anton van Helden
Ko tā te urutira o te aihe mahi he whakataurite i ana neke puta noa i te wai.
Kei te whakarōpūhia ngā kākahi hei aihe – kei te kākahi te urutira tino nui rawa o ngā tohorā katoa.
