Museum plans for whale postponed

The female sei whale had swum up the Lune estuary

A rare whale which died after being beached in Lancashire is to be buried rather than taken to a museum as originally planned.

The female sei whale, found in Morecambe Bay on 28 September, was more than 46 feet (14 metres) long.

It was one of only 14 of its species to be stranded off British waters, and it was hoped a butcher could strip the flesh and the huge mammal's bones then lodged in a museum.

However no-one could be found for the task, and the whale will now be buried.

Rotting smell

It is hoped that the bones can be dug up in a few years time and then be presented for scientific study.

The burial move has been made after environmental health officers expressed concern over the rotting animal.

The whale's beaching on the Greenodd Sands, near Roudsea Woods, immediately aroused the curiosity of the Lancashire Museums Service.

Unfortunately, the specialist butcher needed to strip the flesh was not available, and the animal began to rot so much it could be smelled a hundred yards away.

The Sei whale is usually found in warm waters

English Nature and the Holker Estates agreed to bury the animal in the hope it can be disinterred later, and the skeleton taken for display in Fleetwood Museum.

James Chimonides, a scientist from the Natural History Museum in London has already travelled to Lancashire to study the dead creature.

The whale is a deep-water marine species which is usually found in warmer seas.

Blubber, skin, and tissue samples have been taken to monitor pollution which the whale may have experienced, and to examine its DNA.

The whale had found its way up the River Lune and was discovered lying on its side on mud flats near Pilling, flapping its tale.

Impressive exhibit

Simon Hayhow, Curator of Natural Sciences for Lancashire County Museum service had wanted to house the skeleton in an extension to Fleetwood museum.

He said: "We could gather a lot of information which may shed light on the lives of whales and why they get stranded."

The sei has been a protected species since 1986.

Further details of the discovery will eventually be placed on a stranded whale website which the Natural History Museum is setting up in partnership with the Institute of Zoology based at Regent's Park.