The Museum has named the female
blue whale Hope, as a symbol of humanity's power to shape a sustainable
future. Blue whales were hunted to the brink of extinction in the
twentieth century, but were also one of the first species that humans
decided to save on a global scale.
The whale will be joined in Hintze Hall by hundreds of new specimens and 10 star specimens
chosen to celebrate the wonder and beauty of the natural world, from
the origins of the universe to the story of evolution and diversity in
the world today.
The skeleton now on display in Hintze Hall is from a whale that became stranded in 1891 in Wexford Harbour,
Ireland, 10 years after the Museum opened in South Kensington. It was
bought by the Museum and first displayed in the Mammal Hall in 1934,
where it was suspended above a life-size model of a blue whale, though
it was not in full view.
Richard Sabin, the Museum's leading whale expert, says:
'Whales are incredibly mysterious and behaviourally complex
creatures, as well as being the giants of the ocean. I remember visiting
the Museum as a child and being amazed when I came face-to-face with
the blue whale skeleton we are now unveiling in Hintze Hall.
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