The skeleton of a more than 2,000 kilogram and nearly 18-metre long male sperm whale hangs at the Museum of Nature’s new whale exhibit.The new exhibit, “Whales Tohora,” not only gives people a glimpse at whales, but also at the way of life of the Maori people of New Zealand.
Those visiting the Canadian Museum of Nature can dive into a brand-new exhibit from New Zealand featuring whale tails and tales.
The exhibit opened March 2 and runs until Sept. 3, giving visitors plenty of time to check out all it has to offer.
Its title, “Whales Tohora,” comes from the language of the Maori, the indigenous people of New Zealand.
Visitors can look up in awe at the hanging skeleton of a male sperm whale, weighing in at more than 2,000 kilograms and measuring nearly 18 metres.
The skeleton comes from New Zealand, where the whale died from a beaching in 2003. The Maori gave the whale to the people of New Zealand, where it was then displayed at the Museum of New Zealand.
This skeleton isn’t the first to be shown at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
In 2010, the museum finally unveiled the skeleton of a blue whale to showcase on the second floor, a project that was over 30 years in the making.
There are only two blue whale skeletons in all of Canada, with the other residing in the Beaty Biodiversity Museum at the University of British Columbia.
“Whales Tohora” also features a life-sized model of a blue whale heart, which is nearly as large as a small car, fossils of whale ancestors that are said to have walked on land, recordings of whale voices, and real whale bones, including the spine and ribs of a sperm whale.
The exhibit doesn’t focus solely on whales. As its title suggests, “Whales Tohora” also looks at the Maori way of life and how it has long been connected to whales in New Zealand.
Different artifacts, images, and videos tell the legends of Maori whale riders as well as give a brief history of New Zealand’s indigenous people.
Susan Waugh, senior curator at the Museum of New Zealand, travelled to Ottawa for the opening of the exhibit.
While it has also been touring the United States the past few years, she says Canada is the perfect host for an exhibit of this kind.
“There’s so much common history between New Zealand and Canada, like the First Peoples issues or similar economies and interests,” Waugh says.
Meg Beckel, president and CEO of the Canadian Museum of Nature, says she also believes this common history and culture gives the exhibit a closer connection to Canada.
“Being able to tell a story of whales through a cultural lens and the lens of the Maori people is so similar to our own cultural stories here in Canada when you think of our own First Peoples and their connection with nature,” Beckel says.
Ottawa itself also shares a connection with whales.
Stephen Cumbaa, a research scientist at the museum, says whales once swam here when the Champlain Sea covered the Ottawa Valley more than 10,000 years ago.
“Not far from here, just up the valley in White Lake, scientists found the remains of a bowhead whale that had been swimming in the sea,” he says.
Cumbaa says the museum’s collection holds even more specimens from Ontario, including beluga skeletons.