THE bodies of the sperm whale and its baby have been transported to Xiamen, where marine experts will make four specimens out of them, according to a report of the Shenzhen Economic Daily.

    Employees with Huizhou Fishery Research Promotion Center packed the skins and skeletons in preparation for being made into specimens in four days and transported the bodies to Xiamen on Monday.

    To be made into a specimen, the skin of the whale should be kept at 1.5 centimeters in thickness, which presents a big challenge in shaving off the grease and fat. In addition, de-oiling and steaming techniques are needed to prepare the skeleton.

    Four specimens, including skin, skeleton, organs and fetus (baby sperm whale) will be made by marine experts at Xiamen University. According to Tong Shenhan, curator of the Biology Museum of Xiamen University and Xiamen Land and Marine Creatures Research Institute, the whole process requires about six months. The skin and skeleton will be temporarily kept at Xiamen University Life Science Research Institute’s research base. The organ specimen has been kept in a conditioned warehouse for future research and experts have basically completed the specimen of the baby sperm whale.

    “This will be the sixth sperm whale specimen that I have made,” said Tong. Since 1994, Tong has made hundreds of specimens of marine creatures. Tong stayed in Huizhou for a week to prepare for the specimen-making after the sperm whale was hoisted out of the water.

    (Han Ximin)