THE skeleton of a dead whale found in Tolo Harbour on Tuesday will be mounted and put on display at Ocean Park, a scientist from Swire Institute of Marine Science said yesterday.
The carcass of a 10-metre, two-tonne Bryde's whale was discovered by Marine Police on patrol near the mouth of Tolo harbour.
Last week fishermen reported sighting a group of three or four whales swimming in the area. Scientists examining the carcass believe the animal had been dead for 'several days'.
'We still do not know what they are doing here,' whale and dolphin specialist Chris Parsons of the Swire Laboratory said.
'They are tropical whales so it is not impossible they would be here, but we have never had reports of them in Hong Kong waters. We have not been able to track the other whales with this one, so they may have already left the area.' The Bryde's whale is extremely rare and very little is known about the elusive creature. It usually feeds on herring or mackerel, neither of which are found in Hong Kong waters, but one Bryde's whale was discovered with 14 penguins in its stomach.
'Although it is a tragedy this whale died it is a great opportunity for us, scientifically, to discover something about this species,' Mr Parsons said.