This afternoon, local high school students joined the Whale Education Team for some fun and learning in Bartlett Cove. They gathered in the resource management conference room to learn about the life history of Whale 68 and take a look at the timeline for the Articulation Project. After they all became experts, rangers took them down to the dock where they pulled two bags of Scidmore Cut whale bones from the ocean. The students were amazed by the variety of marine organisms that came up in the nets with the bones. However, some were not too thrilled by the smell!
The Scidmore bones were obtained from a whale that died in Glacier Bay in 2010. Park biologists thought that maybe some of her bones could be retrieved and become replacements for the missing bones of Whale 68. After comparing the bones, however, it was apparent that they would probably not work. Even though the whales were similar in length, they were very different in age. The bones from the younger whale were much smaller in size. The park's project contractor, Dan DenDento, will make the final decision when he arrives this week to evaluate the skeleton. He may be able to "build" upon one of the Scidmore bones to replicate a neighboring bone in Whale 68.
The students had a "whale of a time" and look forward to the next program scheduled for early October.