THE OKARITO WHALE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3145, 24 March 1909, Page 3

THE OKARITO WHALE.

LARGEST ANIMAL KNOWN. Mr Edgar Waite, curator of the Canterbury Museum, writes to the "Press" stating that the skeleton of the now celebrated Okarito whale is now open to the inspection of the public at the Canterbury Museuao, and it is safe to say that anyone who sees it for the first time will find that it exceeds in magnitude all preconceived ideas. The principal measurements of the skeleton are as follow :-Total iength, 87ft; length of head 21ft; length of lower jaw in a straight line, 20ft Bin. The width of the tail flukes are 21ft, but these, being merely fleshy, are not seen in the skeleton. It is not possible to give the weight of the entire skeleton but it has been estimated at nine tons. Some of the bones were weighed for; freight charges. The cranium, exclusive of the upper jaw, weighs 1 ton 9 cwt, and the upper and lower jaws together weigh 1 ton 5 cwt. . "It is thus the largest animal known,'' says Mr: Waite, "and though my claim has been challenged in the local press, replies received to letters • sent to various European and American museums conclusively prove the truth ot the assertion. It was, «f course, by no means certain that if the skeleton was secured it would necessarily come to Christcburch, but I felt, even if we could not have it here, it should be preserved as a lasting memento of the greatest of living things. I should naturally have been extremely disappointed had the skeleton been allowed to leave the country, and I may therefore be pardoned for the pride I feel in its retention." "The skeleton was purchased for £SOO. Jdi this sum £3OO was raised by subscrirjtion, Mr Stead and Mr K. Turnbull (his partner in the venture) each contributing £SO. Ihe task of raising £2OO fell to me, and, while thanking all who assisted, I may sav that I should have found the extraction of the bones much more interesting than the collection (I had nearly written extraction) of thp money. The balance of £2OO was provided out of the funds of , Canterbury College. It, of course, became necessary to build a shelter, while the mere cost of erecting the skeleton of so large an animal was expensive. This has been largely met by the vote of £4OO by the Government, and we fully appreciate the evidence of interest shown ! by Sir Joseph Ward and his Minis- ] j ters. The amount paid for this skeletDn is regarded by some as excessive, but T know that, after I paying for the carcase, labour for j the actual work, travelling ex- ! penses of the men, and freight and j wharfage charges for the bones, to ': say nothing of incidentals, the balance of the £4OO actually paid will not be a very larpe one. "The skeleton of a mammoth has recently reached St. Petersburg, and is now being prepared for exhibition in the zoological museum of that city. It has cost £1,700 to ■ bring it from the sandy bed of a ' river, where it was discovered fifteen I months ago. The .specimen is not a large one, weighing only 275 stone, ' and the teeth are missing. Our whale , may therefore be regarded as cheap at the price paid."