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Beached Cuvier's beaked whale to be museum centrepiece in Maharashtra

Whale Of A Time: Mangrove Cell to preserve Cuvier’s skeleton for display

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A blue whale skeleton on display at the Natural History Museum in London
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The state mangrove cell will soon be dispatching a team to Diveagar beach in Raigad district to deflesh and bring back the skeleton of a 12-foot-long Cuvier's beaked whale whose carcass had washed ashore on July 9.

Officials from the mangrove cell said this was the first record of a Cuvier's beaked whale being found in Maharashtra and it was important to preserve its skeleton.

They want the skeleton to be displayed in their proposed 'Giants of the Sea' museum, which will be constructed at the Coastal and Marine Biodiversity Centre in Airoli.

Cuvier's whales, with a body like a torpedo and a cone-shaped head, are the world's deepest-diving mammals. Their dives can be about 1,400 metres deep and last for nearly an hour, while they are feeding near the sea floor, experts said.

Additional principal chief conservator of forests, mangrove cell, N Vasudevan, said that the 12-feet carcass of this rare whale will have to be dug out and defleshed.

"Our team will most probably begin work from Friday in coordination with the locals and experts. Once the bones are clear of the flesh, they will be brought to Airoli by road," he said.

Vasudevan said the proposed museum will have a special section for skeletal displays of marine species.

"We have a skeleton of a 43-feet Bryde's whale. And we plan to get the bones of a sperm whale buried in Sindhudurg area. We hope to add skeletal frames of other marine species," Vasudevan said, adding that a fund of
Rs 30 crore has been sanctioned for the museum.

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