How a whale left an island fascinated for 100 years

One hundred years ago, the Isle of Man was captivated by the arrival of a massive whale on its shores. This whale, a female sei whale, became stranded at Langness in the summer of 1925, drawing crowds from all over the island. Families, children, and curious locals flocked to see the enormous creature, which was the largest mammal ever found on the Manx coast. The event was so remarkable that it caught the attention of the Manx Museum, which wanted to preserve the whale's skeleton as a special part of its collection. Moving the whale was a huge challenge. Without modern machines, people had to use ropes, chains, trailers, and even a tugboat to drag the 48-foot carcass back out to sea and around the coast to Derbyhaven. From there, it was hauled ashore and taken to an abattoir in Douglas, where workers removed most of the flesh. The smell was so terrible that police warned people to close their windows as the whale passed by. After the flesh was removed, the bones were buried for four years to let nature finish cleaning them. This method, still used today, allows small creatures to eat away any remaining tissue, leaving the bones clean and dry.

Once the bones were ready, the museum faced another challenge: finding a suitable place to display the huge skeleton. After raising funds, the whale found a home in the Edward Forbes Gallery, named after a famous Manx botanist. The skeleton was mounted by a London company that had also worked on the blue whale at the Natural History Museum in London. Even without flesh, the skeleton was extremely heavy, with the skull alone weighing more than a tonne. The process of mounting the skeleton was long and complicated, involving barrels of papier-mache and steel supports. The skeleton remained in the same spot for seventy years, until the museum was renovated in 2005. The bones were moved again, this time with the help of modern technology, and the skeleton now hangs in the new Natural History Gallery.

Sei whales are the third largest whale species, after blue and fin whales. They are dark with white bellies and can grow up to 64 feet long, swimming at speeds of up to 34 miles per hour. These whales usually live alone or in small groups and eat about 2,000 pounds of plankton every day. Sei whales are found in many parts of the world, but they are endangered and usually stay in deep waters away from the coast. The Langness whale skeleton is the largest object in the Manx Museum and continues to fascinate visitors. According to Laura McCoy, the museum's curator of natural history, the skeleton helps spark conversations about science, history, and art. It inspires children and adults to learn more about the natural world and may even encourage some to study nature in the future. The Langness whale remains a symbol of curiosity and discovery for generations on the Isle of Man.