Fire at India’s Museum of Natural History and lost ‘treasures’ could have ‘ripple effects for centuries into the future’
Police do not yet know what caused Tuesday’s fire but the flammability of some taxidermied specimens aided in its rapid spread.
When the National Museum of Natural History in New Delhi burned down this week, along with many of its priceless specimens, curators called its destruction an unprecedented disaster. The Indian government says it will build a new museum. But experts said the destruction of the display collection, which included a 160-million-year-old sauropod fossil, represents an irrevocable loss – not just for India, but the world.
“A loss of a natural history collection at this scale has not been seen outside of war,” Corrie Moreau, a professor and curator at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, said.
A loss of a natural history collection at this scale has not been seen outside of war
“This is a devastating loss for all museums,” Moreau said. “Scientists around the world rely on natural history collections to serve as the archive and source of material for scientific research, and a loss such as this will have ripple effects around the globe, now and for decades, even centuries, into the future.”
Moreau had planned to visit the New Delhi museum in May.
“The loss cannot be counted in rupees,” Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar, whose agency ran the museum, told reporters on Tuesday. Field Museum Director Richard Lariviere extended sympathy and dismay in a letter to Prakash, and offered assistance.
The New Delhi museum, a brainchild of former Prime Minister Indira Ghandi, opened its doors in 1978. Guidebook Lonely Planet described it as a popular destination for the capital’s youth, known for “colourful but fading exhibits and boisterous groups of schoolchildren”.
Police do not yet know what caused Tuesday’s fire, but the flammability of some taxidermied specimens aided in its rapid spread. Six firemen were injured putting it out. Local news services were able to capture footage of the blaze. Over the next few days, officials will conduct an investigation to figure out what, if anything, survived the flames.