Scientists dissect washed-up pygmy whale in Victoria
A rare pygmy right whale washed up on a Victorian beach is being dissected by scientists from Museum Victoria.
The six-metre whale weighing about three tonnes washed up on the South Gippsland coast last week sparking excitement among researchers.
The whale was dead when it washed up at Sealers Cove last Wednesday and authorities had to tow it to the Port Anthony Marine Terminal where it was being assessed.
Dr Erich Fitzgerald from Museum Victoria said the adult whale was the subject of intense research interest worldwide.
"It's a rare opportunity because this is not just another rare whale, this is the first time that an adult pygmy right whale has stranded in Victoria," he said.
"We still don't understand much about its behaviour, its biology. We're not even sure how its internal organs function."
The scientists took measurements, and blubber and tissue samples for DNA records.
The flesh was stripped away and the bones will be then buried in a pit in some sand dunes, where nature will do its part to remove any remaining flesh.
Museum Victoria will then come back to collect the bones at a later date.
Take a look at the process here:*
