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SINGAPORE: The carcass of a baleen whale was found in Singapore waters off Tanjong Pagar.
The carcass was found on Sep 6, and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum of the National University of Singapore (NUS) is conducting studies on it, the museum said in a media release on Tuesday (Sep 16).
It was alerted to the discovery of the carcass by the National Parks Board.
The whale's carcass was reported to have drifted towards the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on Sep 12, the museum said, adding that it monitored the situation closely as preparations were made to salvage the specimen.
To prevent it from being lost to the open sea, the museum's staff worked with Singapore Salvage Engineers to secure the carcass.
The carcass was identified as that of a rorqual whale of the Balaenoptera genus, which consists of filter-feeding baleen whale species.
A whale carcass retrieved by Singapore Salvage Engineers crew on Sep 12, 2025. (Photo: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore)
A floating whale carcass is seen near the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on Sep 12, 2025. (Photo: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore)
The incomplete specimen measures approximately 6.3m in length and is estimated to weigh about six tonnes.
It is now safely secured in a restricted area for processing and further study, the museum said.
"Preliminary assessment indicates that the whale carcass is at an advanced stage of decomposition, and so the cause of death is unclear," said Dr Marcus Chua, curator of mammalia at the museum.
"Meanwhile, we are working to find out as much as we can about the animal."
It has been a decade since the museum had the opportunity to study a whale carcass found in Singapore waters.
In 2015, the year the museum opened, the carcass of a sperm whale washed up near Jurong Island, the museum said. It was later dubbed Jubi Lee.
Jubi Lee represented the first record of a sperm whale in Singapore’s territorial waters, as well as the first confirmed record of the species in the coastal waters around Peninsular Malaysia, according to the museum.
It had been on display in the museum’s gallery since 2016, with the museum describing it as one of its centrepieces and "a treasured part of Singapore’s natural heritage".
More than a century before Jubi Lee's discovery, in 1907, the present National Museum of Singapore put on display the skeleton of a 13.4m-long blue whale that was found stranded near Melaka in 1892.
This specimen was formally gifted to the National Museum of Malaysia in 1974.
The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum's sperm whale specimen, Jubi Lee, on display in the museum's gallery. (Photo: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore)
Associate Professor Darren Yeo, the head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, said it was "both moving and serendipitous" that another whale carcass should arrive in Singapore's waters during the museum's 10th anniversary year.
He added that the museum has been reflecting on a decade of research, public engagement, and conservation.
Dr Chua said that whale encounters are rare in Singapore waters, hence, "each stranding provides unique opportunities to study these large marine mammals".
The museum is currently studying the carcass and has collected tissue samples for future genetic analysis.
Details on the dissection process and findings will be shared in due course, the museum added.
Located at NUS, the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum is Singapore's only natural history museum.
Source: CNA/fh(kg)
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FAST
SINGAPORE: The carcass of a baleen whale was found in Singapore waters off Tanjong Pagar.
The carcass was found on Sep 6, and the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum of the National University of Singapore (NUS) is conducting studies on it, the museum said in a media release on Tuesday (Sep 16).
It was alerted to the discovery of the carcass by the National Parks Board.
The whale's carcass was reported to have drifted towards the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on Sep 12, the museum said, adding that it monitored the situation closely as preparations were made to salvage the specimen.
To prevent it from being lost to the open sea, the museum's staff worked with Singapore Salvage Engineers to secure the carcass.
The carcass was identified as that of a rorqual whale of the Balaenoptera genus, which consists of filter-feeding baleen whale species.
A whale carcass retrieved by Singapore Salvage Engineers crew on Sep 12, 2025. (Photo: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore)
A floating whale carcass is seen near the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on Sep 12, 2025. (Photo: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore)
The incomplete specimen measures approximately 6.3m in length and is estimated to weigh about six tonnes.
It is now safely secured in a restricted area for processing and further study, the museum said.
"Preliminary assessment indicates that the whale carcass is at an advanced stage of decomposition, and so the cause of death is unclear," said Dr Marcus Chua, curator of mammalia at the museum.
"Meanwhile, we are working to find out as much as we can about the animal."
What are baleen whales?
- Baleen whales are large marine mammals distinguished by the absence of teeth and the presence of baleen plates in their upper jaws, according to the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum.
- Sixteen species of baleen whales are known worldwide, ranging from the 6.5m-long pygmy right whale to the 30m-long blue whale.
- Many species undertake long annual migrations between polar feeding grounds and tropical breeding areas, making them widespread across the world's oceans.
- Although rare in Singapore waters, baleen whales have been recorded off the country before, with carcasses observed off Pulau Bukom in 1980 and in the South China Sea near Pedra Branca in 2009.
A DECADE SINCE MUSEUM HAD OPPORTUNITY TO STUDY WHALE CARCASS
It has been a decade since the museum had the opportunity to study a whale carcass found in Singapore waters.
In 2015, the year the museum opened, the carcass of a sperm whale washed up near Jurong Island, the museum said. It was later dubbed Jubi Lee.
Jubi Lee represented the first record of a sperm whale in Singapore’s territorial waters, as well as the first confirmed record of the species in the coastal waters around Peninsular Malaysia, according to the museum.
It had been on display in the museum’s gallery since 2016, with the museum describing it as one of its centrepieces and "a treasured part of Singapore’s natural heritage".
More than a century before Jubi Lee's discovery, in 1907, the present National Museum of Singapore put on display the skeleton of a 13.4m-long blue whale that was found stranded near Melaka in 1892.
This specimen was formally gifted to the National Museum of Malaysia in 1974.
The Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum's sperm whale specimen, Jubi Lee, on display in the museum's gallery. (Photo: Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore)
Associate Professor Darren Yeo, the head of the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, said it was "both moving and serendipitous" that another whale carcass should arrive in Singapore's waters during the museum's 10th anniversary year.
He added that the museum has been reflecting on a decade of research, public engagement, and conservation.
Dr Chua said that whale encounters are rare in Singapore waters, hence, "each stranding provides unique opportunities to study these large marine mammals".
The museum is currently studying the carcass and has collected tissue samples for future genetic analysis.
Details on the dissection process and findings will be shared in due course, the museum added.
Located at NUS, the Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum is Singapore's only natural history museum.
Source: CNA/fh(kg)
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