400-plus-pound whale skull is rare find on Cape beach - Boston Globe
A marine mammal rescue team has excavated a whale skull believed to be more than 30 years old from a beach in Brewster.
The skull, which was removed from the sand by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, is estimated to be 400 and 500 pounds. Based on the size and shape of the skull, officials with the organization speculate that the skull is from a right whale, but they must perform DNA testing to be sure.
"A find like this is unusual, and it could be very interesting to help us learn more about the history of right whales on Cape Cod," said Kerry Branon, a spokeswoman for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
Staff at the Ocean Edge Resort & Golf Club in Brewster discovered the skull Wednesday morning, Branon said. At first, they thought it was a rock sticking out of the sand. When they tried to dig it up, they soon realized that the object was a large piece of bone.
Excavation began Wednesday morning. With the help of a backhoe, the skull was removed from the sand at about 12 p.m. today. Staff members at the International Fund for Animal Welfare had to work slowly because the bone was extremely brittle due to its exposure to water.
"It went as well as we possibly could have hoped for. We were able to have it all stay intact," Branon said.
The skull was taken to the International Fund for Animal Welfare's warehouse, where officials will wait for it to dry. Then, they will drill a small hole in the skull to obtain bone shavings that they hope will provide a DNA sample. That DNA may allow researchers to identify this whale skull as a member of an existing whale family.
"This is not everyday kind of stuff for us," Branon said. "What is normal for us is responding to live and dead marine mammals. But digging up whale bones — this is a rare event."
23 Sep, 2011--
Source: http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGCiOic4mNimGzHMn2H5JnayMP5aA&url=http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2011/09/plus-pound-whale-skull-rare-find-cape-beach/CsQxnvl87DwoiIAQp9z2EM/
~
Manage subscription | Powered by rssforward.com
