Skull of whale on Ocean View to be used in N.C.

By Cindy Clayton
The Virginian-Pilot
© February 22, 2012

NORFOLK

The skull of a fin whale discovered on the beach near 1st View Street in Ocean View on Sunday is being taken to North Carolina to be examined and used as an educational tool.

A member of the stranding network from North Carolina took the skull after the animal was buried on the beach on Tuesday, said Joan Barns, Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center spokeswoman.

The skull will be cleaned and examined and used for educational purposes somewhere in North Carolina, she said.

“It’s definitely going to serve another purpose,” Barns said.

A necropsy was performed Tuesday on the whale, which had a large gash on its head when it was discovered.

Once the skull is cleaned, stranding experts will be able to see whether there were additional fractures or other damage.

The whale likely collided with a large vessel, but the stranding team won't know definitively what caused the death until the results of pathology tests on its tissues are received, said Maggie Lynott, response team manager.

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NC?

Submitted by Edison1985 on Wed, 02/22/2012 at 10:21 pm.

We have a world class aquarium in Virginia Beach. We have a major port that dwarfs any of the NC ports. We have a naval base that serves many USNavy vessels. Old Dominion has researchers steeped in marine mammals. Why couldn't VA get the skull and use as an educational tool? Are we so strapped as a state that we could not utilize the skull for use in our state to help prevent similar strikes off our coast?