by Theleaders | September 17, 2025 12:43 pm
SINGAPORE, Sept 17 — A baleen whale carcass discovered in waters near Tanjong Pagar is now being studied by the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum (LKCNHM), its first specimen of this kind in a decade.
The museum said yesterday it was alerted by the National Parks Board on September 6 to the carcass, which later drifted towards the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on September 12, CNA reported.
To prevent it from being swept out to sea, the museum worked with Singapore Salvage Engineers to secure and retrieve the remains over two days.
The whale, identified as a rorqual of the Balaenoptera genus, measured about 6.3m in length and weighed an estimated six tonnes.
The specimen was incomplete and in an advanced stage of decomposition, making the cause of death uncertain.
“It is rare to encounter whales in Singapore waters. Each stranding offers a unique opportunity to study these large marine mammals,” said Dr Marcus Chua, the museum’s curator of mammalia.
Baleen whales are marine mammals of the suborder Mysticeti, which use baleen plates in their mouths to filter plankton and small fish.
They include right whales, rorquals, the grey whale and the pygmy right whale, with around 14 to 16 recognised species.
Baleen whales diverged from toothed whales about 34 million years ago and, like all cetaceans, are now known to be closely related to even-toed ungulates such as hippos.
Tissue samples have been collected for genetic testing, and findings from the dissection will be released later.
The discovery comes 10 years after the museum last studied a whale carcass — the sperm whale “Jubi Lee”, which washed ashore near Jurong Island in 2015 and has since been a centrepiece of the museum’s gallery.
Whale strandings are exceedingly uncommon in Singapore.
Prior to Jubi Lee, the last major record dates back to a 13.4m blue whale found stranded near Melaka in 1892, whose skeleton was later displayed at the National Museum of Singapore before being transferred to the National Museum of Malaysia in 1974.
Located at the National University of Singapore, LKCNHM remains the country’s only natural history museum.
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