Giant of Giants Honoured at Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum

On March 11, the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto will launch its new exhibition dedicated to the largest animal the planet has ever known: Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story.

The exhibition invites the public to “discover a story bigger than all of us” by relating the story of its main star, the 24-metre long blue whale skeleton, which dates back to April 2014 when the animal was found dead near Newfoundland. This whale was probably one of the nine individuals that had died trapped in the ice a few weeks earlier (in French). “Never have so many blue whales perished at the same time in the same area,” points out Fisheries and Oceans Canada. This stranding, while tragic for the endangered species, eventually proved to be an exceptional opportunity for research and conservation.

Out of the Depths: The Blue Whale Story offers an in-depth look into the lives of these whales (evolution, communication, feeding strategy) and a chance to discover research and conservation projects being carried out around the world to better understand these elusive giants. Experts will be on hand to present their research projects, including:

Richard Sears, founder and director of the Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS)

Christopher Clark of Cornell University, marine mammal acoustics specialist

Asha De Vious, investigator for The Sri Lankan Blue Whale Project.

To learn more:

On the Royal Ontario Museum website and its Facebook page.