It is expected that the skeleton of the 25-meter long blue whale that beached at Skagi peninsula in North Iceland in the summer of 2010 will become part of the natural history exhibition in Perlan in Reykjavík.
Perlan. Photo: Páll Kjartansson/Iceland Review.
Jón Gunnar Ottósson, director of the Icelandic Institute of Natural History, told Morgunblaðið that the skeleton is now stored at Keflavík International Airport where facilities were rented for three years.
Jón Gunnar explained it is a lot of work to assemble the bones and that it will only be made for a long-term exhibition. Most parts of the skeleton fit inside Perlan, except the skull and special arrangements have to be made to have it fit.
Others have also expressed interest in displaying the blue whale skeleton, including the Whale Museum in Húsavík, where a special building will be made to facilitate it.
Since the whale carcass was recovered, Institute of Natural History employee Þorvaldur Þór Björnsson has worked on cleansing and repairing the bones.
All fat has to be removed, which has to be boiled out. It’s a lot of work as one vertebra can weigh 50-60 kilos and the ribs can measure up to three meters.
Related:
14.03.2013 | Icelandic Nature Exhibition to Open in Perlan in 2014
19.09.2010 | Big Blue Whale Skeleton Will Be Preserved
ESA
