After 2 years, bones of whale uncovered on Cape Lookout beach

Two years after a whale died on a Cape Lookout beach, scientists are preparing its remains for display, WITN reports.

The 20-foot female Minke Whale was discovered in December 2018. on Cape Lookout National Seashore. A team including scientists from N.C. State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology performed a necropsy on the whale, one of the largest-ever documented in North Carolina.

Scientists determined the whale was a good choice for skeletal re-articulation and buried it on the beach so it could decompose.

Researchers returned to the site last week to dig up the bones and bring them to the Bonehenge Whale Center in Beaufort for preservation and education.

Cleaning and repairing the bones could take up to a year, experts say.