PTMSC Flenses its First Whale
by Anna Bachman
On Monday, July 5th 1999, on a beach off the Straits of Juan de Fuca, a dead 25-foot gray whale (Eschrichtius robustus) washed into shore. A young male, it was one of dozens of gray whales that washed onto Puget Sound Beaches that summer. Staff from the Cascadia Research Collective came a few days later and took samples from the body, but as so little is known about these animals that it was impossible to determine the exact cause of death.
Almost a month after the whale first washed onto shore, a crew of twenty PTMSC volunteers, swathed in rubber gear and armed to the teeth with fillet knives, ginzu knives, and even a machete, made their way to the young whale's remains. Their mission: to flense the gray whale. Flense is a Danish word meaning to cut blubber or skin from a whale or seal. PTMSC volunteers were there to begin the messy job of cutting up the carcass, removing, and bagging up all of the bones into net bags. Yes, the aroma was ... pretty potent but in the process volunteers gained an increased appreciation for this incredible animal. Plus, everyone left with a wonderful story to tell their friends and neighbors. It isn't often, after all, that you get a chance to flense a whale.
Once the bones were obtained, the long process of cleaning and preservation began. This involved submerging the bones in salt water for a few weeks to let the marine critters finish the cleaning job. The bones were then pulled from the water and allowed to air dry. They were then coated with two layers of a polyester resin (donated by a Seattle firm called Fiberlay) to give them a hard protective coating. Almost immediately, the PTMSC began using the skeleton of the gray whale, now dubbed 'Spirit,' in classes where participants articulated the skeleton themselves. Many thanks go to the Friday Harbor Whale Museum for sharing their thoughts on educational programs.
Baleen whales, including Grays, have attached to their arching upper jaw two racks of yellowish-white baleen plates that are used to capture food. We were lucky that both racks of Spirit's baleen were found not far from the body. Two PTMSC volunteers, Don & Renee Wright, had recently been involved in the preservation of another whale, Rosie, on Whidbey Island. Both had been instrumental in preserving the baleen from Rosie and they directed the baleen project for Spirit as well. Finally, Bill Brown, a local carpenter, built a cart for Spirit's skull and mounted one rack of the baleen in the skull.
Spirit, as well as several other marine mammal and bird skulls and skeletons, has become an important component of PTMSC educational programs. But none of this could have happened without the volunteers who graciously and enthusiastically stepped forward to help. To the flensers, the divers, the folks who helped moved the bones, and the volunteers who helped clean and preserve the bones and baleen, the Marine Science Center expresses it's deepest gratitude.
