Remains of whale found off Tanjong Pagar being preserved

Work to preserve the remains of a whale that surfaced in the waters off Tanjong Pagar on Sept 6 is under way as scientists labour to solve its many mysteries.

- Ang Qing Correspondent

Marine mammal scientists told The Straits Times that the baleen whale is likely to have hailed from elsewhere in the South China Sea or the waters off Peninsular Malaysia, as Singapore's shallow waters are insufficient to support buffets of prey that most of these large whales feed on.

The dead animal was identified as a rorqual whale - a family of baleen whales characterised by their pleated throats that expand when they eat.

These filter-feeding whales also include the blue whale, the world's largest.

Whales play a key role in ecosystems as they help transport nutrients across oceans and can mitigate the impact of climate change by storing large amounts of carbon.

NUS' Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum curator of mammals Marcus Chua, who is leading the operation to study and preserve the whale, said the team began cutting flesh off the carcass on Sept 15 to obtain its skeleton.

"The next step will be the degreasing and preservation of the bones," he said. "Degreasing is important because whale bones are oily."

Explaining why it took days to salvage the carcass from the water, Dr Chua said it was a complex operation, which entailed careful planning and securing permits.

It will take some time to determine the exact species the specimen belongs to, as the roughly 6.3m-long carcass was at an advanced stage of decomposition, he added.