The ROM's Newfoundland whale bones get a cow manure bath
The remains of a blue whale carcass that washed up on the coast of Newfoundland earlier this year are now being prepared for their new home at the Royal Ontario Museum. In order to get the bones cleaned for public display, the skeleton is being given a nice long bath -- in cow manure....
The remains of a blue whale carcass that washed up on the coast of Newfoundland earlier this year are now being prepared for their new home at the Royal Ontario Museum. In order to get the bones cleaned for public display, the skeleton is being given a nice long bath -- in cow manure.
"We had a delay of a couple of months while we waited for the cows to have enough output."
Mark Engstrom is the deputy director of the ROM. He tells Carol that burying the bones in manure is the fastest way to rid them of tissue. The manure bath speeds up nature's own decomposition process.
While the bones are now in Prince Edward County, Ontario -- a farming area with no shortage or cattle or manure -- the process was delayed as the preservation crew waited for cows to produce enough dung.
The manure is mixed with sawdust to heat up the compost and ensure the bones are not stained in the process.
When we last spoke with Engstrom, he was up to his waist in rotting blue whale. He tells Carol that he prefers the smell of cow manure.
"I have to say that manure mixed with sawdust is a lot better smelling than an entire dead whale."
The entire skeleton preparation will take approximately two years.