Whale Bones (Ep. 2): Cleaning a Carcass

With the necropsy complete, world-renowned skeleton articulator, Mike deRoos and his team arrive on Calvert Island, British Columbia. Their goal: to retrieve this young humpback whale’s bones and prepare them for display. As they strip back layers of muscle and blubber, they uncover a clue that reveals what killed the whale. Along the way, we dig into how humpbacks feed and the threats they face as they journey through the gauntlet of today’s human-altered ocean.
Hey, teachers! Here’s a cheat sheet of what’s included in this episode of Whale Bones:
- British Columbia’s nutrient-rich waters, marine food chain
- Humpback whales: feeding strategy, summer and wintering grounds, filter feeding, baleen, bubble net feeding, threats they face (boat strikes, pollution, underwater noise pollution, entanglement)
- Humpback whale skeleton: defleshing a whale carcass, cleaning the whale’s bones
And if you want to dive deeper into Whale Bones, download our education kit: drive.google.c...
This episode is part of our series Whale Bones, where we follow the story of a young humpback whale-revealed through his bones.
Created by the Hakai Institute
Produced and edited by Meigan Henry
Videography by Kristina Blanchflower, Grant Callegari, and Bennett Whitnell
Additional footage and photographs provided by Brad/Adobe, PD-Media/Adobe, Gerald Corsi/iStock, JZHunt/iStock, Videodive/iStock, James Begeman taken under NMFS MMHSRP Permit #18786-06, NOAA taken under MMHSRP Permit #932-1489 and #932-1905, Eric Peterson, jsievert/Pond5, Lightleak/Pond5, mhockinbennett/Pond5, RickRay/Pond5, Ulannaqlngemann/Pond5, underwatercam/Pond5, Katrina Pyne, Josh Silberg, and Storyblocks
Illustrations and maps by Mercedes Minck
Title graphic by Josh Silberg
Special thanks to Mike deRoos, Michiru Main, Katie Ford, Jackie Hildering/Marine Education & Research Society (MERS), Paul Cottrell/DFO, and Stephen Raverty/DFO
To learn more about how you can help reduce the threats faced by humpbacks and other cetaceans, visit mersociety.org... and howtosaveawhale...
If you see an injured, stranded, entangled, or dead animal, keep your distance and contact the appropriate authorities:
24/7 marine mammal species incident hotline: [phone]
www.dfo-mpo.gc...
Learn more about Mike deRoos and his work at www.cetacea.ca/

[@moonystarx]

Thats amazing.