Whale skeleton returns after museum revamp

5 hours ago

News image — The juvenile North Atlantic right whale is the largest item at the museum

PA Media Nigel Larkin pictured with the whale skeleton inside the gallery. He is wearing a hi-vis jacket and a yellow hard hat. — The juvenile North Atlantic right whale is the largest item at the museum

A skeleton of a whale caught almost 120 years ago has returned to a museum after being in storage for six years.

The 40ft (12m) specimen, made up of 168 individual bones, was dismantled and removed from Hull Maritime Museum in 2020 and taken to Shropshire for cleaning and conservation.

The exhibit has taken specialist whale conservator Nigel Larkin five days to install in its new home in the refurbished Age of Sail gallery.

The museum is due to reopen in August, when visitors will be able to crawl inside the whale's rib cage through a tunnel.

PA Media Overhead shot of work taking place at the museum. There is scaffolding in place and other items on the wall, including a ship's wheel. — The whale skeleton was one of 50,000 exhibits to be placed in storage while refurbishment work took place

Councillor Mike Ross, leader of Hull City Council, said: "This is one of the most important and fragile objects in the museum's collection, and it's fantastic to see it return to its rightful place.

"The whale's story will be told in new and exciting ways, helping visitors appreciate the significance of this species."

The juvenile North Atlantic right whale is the largest item at the museum and was caught with its mother near New York in 1907.

The skeleton was gifted to the city by the University Museum of Zoology in Cambridge.

It belongs to a species that is now critically endangered, with fewer than 400 North Atlantic right whales believed to survive worldwide.

Listen to highlights fromHull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Storefor iPhone and iPad orGoogle Play for Android devices