Gray whale bones to become new exhibit in Port Townsend

PORT TOWNSEND, Wash. – The bones of a dead gray whale have been moved to a greenhouse to dry and are destined to become a new exhibit at the Port Townsend Marine Science Center.

The Peninsula Daily News reports the bones had been anchored underwater at Naval Magazine Indian Island.

Center coordinator Betsy Carlson said they’re working to set up a place for the bones to be displayed. They haven’t decided whether the exhibit will travel or be stationary.

The bones will be labeled this winter and they’ll be put together at a later date.

The gray whale died in May in Elliott Bay near downtown Seattle. The 29-foot-long juvenile female gray whale weighed between 13,000 and 15,000 pounds.

Biologists and veterinarians say the whale suffered from a collapsed lung.