BandungBergerak.id–The Zoological Museum at the Bogor Botanical Gardens has kept a collection of blue whale skeletons for a long time. The whale skeleton collection is one of the museum's special collections within the Bogor Botanical Garden site. The more than 27-meter-long marine mammal skeleton is displayed in the hallway at the museum's exit. A series of iron girders support the blue whale skeleton, which weighs up to 64 tons.

A signboard displaying information on the whale at the Zoological Museum says the blue whale was originally found dead stranded on Pameungpeuk beach in Garut, West Java in December 1916. A month later the blue whale carcass was brought to the museum, which was then called Zoologisch Museum en Laboratorium. The whale's bones were then assembled and displayed there.

A number of Dutch-language newspapers published in the Dutch East Indies still record the event. The Bataviaasch nieuwsblad newspaper dated December 21, 1916, was one of the first to report the discovery of the marine mammal. The newspaper reported the discovery of the whale, whose species was unknown, which was found dead stranded around December 19, 1916.

The Bataviaasch nieuwsblad newspaper mentioned that the whale carcass was found in Cilauteureun Bay, Garut. The newspaper gave details of the size of the whale corpse.

"The day before yesterday, in Tjilaoeteureun Bay on the south coast of Preanger in Garutsche, a whale was stranded, 26 meters long, 8 high, and 13 meters wide. The monster is dead," wrote Bataviaasch nieuwsblad, December 21, 1916.

Until now, the Bogor Zoological Museum still displays the whale skeleton. The museum listed the whale species whose skeleton was on display as Balaenoptera musculus. The blue whale's weight can reach 190 tons with a maximum length of 30 meters. The largest marine mammal in the world, the blue whale makes krill, a group of 1-2-centimeter shrimp, its main food. Blue whales can consume up to 40 million krill per day.

The name and classification of the animal species was first done by Carl Linnaeus in his book Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis in 1758. Linnaeus categorized the giant animal in the Mammal class with the species name Balaena musculus. Later, world researchers refined the classification of the animal by naming the species Balaenoptera musculus for blue whales.

The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL) platform developed by the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in 2018 documents technical data related to blue whales collected from research results around the world. For example, the body size of blue whales that have been recorded is female with a length of 32.6-meters and a weight of 190 tons.

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The Blue Whale, Stranded or Hunted

A number of museums in the world store blue whale skeletons. Among them is the National History Museum of London, which became the first to store a blue whale skeleton in the world. The natural history museum in England obtained the skeleton of a blue whale that was stranded due to being caught by the receding sea in shallow waters in Wexford on March 25, 1891 (nhm.ac.uk).

The poor animal was killed by fishermen and its body auctioned off until a 4.5-ton skeleton was sold to the National History Museum for £250. It wasn't until 1934 that the blue whale skeleton was assembled and exhibited in the Mammal Museum gallery. In 2017, the blue whale skeleton, later named Hope, was moved to the museum's entrance area, Hintze Hall, where it remains today.

The world knows blue whales in at least two ways. Finding them stranded, or hunting them. The exotic animal has long been the most hunted animal for many reasons ranging from taking its meat and oil, or just sheer pride. Currently, blue whales are on the brink of extinction. Now, all whale species of the genus Balaenoptera are categorized as threatened and under protection (CITES Appendix I). The Indonesian government has also categorized blue whales as Fully Protected as stipulated in the Minister of Environment and Forestry Regulation 106/2018.

Although Indonesian waterways are not the habitat of blue whales, these animals are often found stranded on a number of beaches in various parts of Indonesia. The Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) noted that from 2012-2021 there were 20 incidents of whales stranded throughout Indonesia. The types vary, including sperm whales, baleen whales, humpback whales, and blue whales. The number of stranded whales in Indonesia also tends to increase.

Throughout 2022 alone, the Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries has handled 25 cases of stranded marine mammals in eastern Indonesia. Most of them, namely 13 incidents, were stranded whales, the rest were dugongs and dolphins. The large number of stranded whales is due to the fact that Indonesian waters, especially those in the eastern region, are a migration route for various types of whales including blue whales.

The blue whale stranded in Garut in 1916 was not the first incident in the Dutch East Indies. The daily Sumatra-courant: nieuws- en advertentieblad of December 5, 1878 reported the finding of a beached whale on the beach near Dessa Trissik deka Brosot, Djocjacarta.

"A whale has come ashore. However, the inhabitants of Java calmly rolled the monster into the sea again. People are of the opinion that since Kappeyne's action so many strange things have washed ashore in the Indies that this monster can be removed without harming the Company," reads the daily Sumatra-courant: nieuws- en advertentieblad of December 5, 1878.

The Sumatra-bode newspaper of December 29, 1916, when reporting on the finding of a beached whale in Garut also mentioned that similar events also often occur on the west coast of Sumatra. "Dead whales have also been stranded several times here on the West Coast. A few years ago in Oelak Karang and another time in Pariaman," the newspaper wrote.

But the blue whale that stranded in Garut in 1916 was an event that received wide public attention in the colonial era. Several newspapers described the whale. The newspaper quoted the story of Mr. Lans who had touched it and felt that the whale's skin was as smooth as ice, with large eyeballs, and a mouth 5 meters wide.

Becoming a Museum Collection

A number of newspapers at that time encouraged the Zoological Museum in Buitenzorg, now Bogor, to utilize the whale corpse. One of them was the Bataviaasch nieuwsblad newspaper in its publication on December 23, 1916 when reporting on the progress of the discovery of the whale corpse. "One might ask whether there is any use (for the stranded whale carcass) for the museum in Buitenzorg," the newspaper wrote.

The information board at the Bogor Zoological Museum tells that in December 1916, PA Owens, an expert curator from the Zoologicum Bogorieense Museum, came to the beach in Pameungpeuk Garut to observe the blue whale corpse. He came with a picture artist and a local photographer.

Then on January 6, 1917 the museum decided to bring the whale carcass to Bogor. It took 44 days to move the carcass to the Museum Zoologicum Bogorieense. The transportation work was assisted by JA van Oostersee and E van Leeuweun, respectively the Superintendent and Foreman at the Goengoeng Glap Public Works Board, then the Wedana of Pameungpeuk Raden Soerialegawa, and the Assistant Wedana of Tjikelet Raden Danoeatmadja.

The Bataviaasch nieuwsblad newspaper of January 9, 1917 reported the plan. "The whale that washed ashore in Pameungpeuk will be placed in the Zoological Museum in Buitenzorg," the newspaper wrote.

De Preanger-bode newspaper of February 18, 1917 gave a glimpse of the process of transporting the whale carcass. Part by part the whale carcass was loaded into 6 train carriages. The spine and ribs were placed in 2 closed carriages. While the rest starting from the head, jaw, and other parts are laid in 4 open carriages.

"The shipment will pass Bandung on Saturday (i.e., yesterday), en route to Buitenzorg, where the skeleton will find a place in the museum," wrote De Preanger-bode, dated February 18, 1917.

A more detailed account of the transportation of the whale carcass was reported in a lengthy article published in a number of Dutch-language newspapers a month later. De locomotief newspaper dated March 12, 1917 was one of the Dutch-language newspapers at that time that carried a long article on the process of transporting the whale carcass from Pameungpeuk to the Zoological Museum in Buitenzorg.

Mayor Ouwens, as De locomotief newspaper wrote the name of the curator of the Zoological Museum in Buitenzorg, was responsible for transporting the whale carcass. Reuter, his assistant, was in charge of cutting the whale apart so that it could be transported by train, while Ouwens was further in charge of assembling the whale's skeleton upon arrival at the Zoological Museum in Buitenzorg.

The whale's body was incredibly large. De locomotief newspaper wrote that the whale's bones alone weighed 6,390 kilograms. Then the whale's nose bone is 4 meters long, the lower jaw is 5.5 meters, the tail width is 5.6 meters, the whale's arm or fin is 3.5 meters long. The whale's shoulder blade is as big as a table. The whale carcass has 65 vertebrae, with each vertebra as big as a boat vane.

Carrying the whale carcass was not an easy task. With the size of the whale's head, a number of railroad bridges had to be temporarily dismantled so that the train carrying it could pass. A pungent odor emanated from the whale carcass as the train passed. Local residents were reluctant to help transport it even though they were tempted with money. With the help of the village head, they finally agreed to help

"And the museum in Buitenzorg has a rare example, it has a whale skeleton, which if I understand correctly, must be the largest on display anywhere in the museum. With that Buitenzorg also becomes a richer attraction. A special warehouse will be built in the park to house the animal. Balaenoptera Indica resting peacefully there! In the name of science...," wrote De locomotief, March 12, 1917.

Stranded Whales Still Happening

The obituary of Mayor PA Ouwens published in De Preanger-bode newspaper on March 9, 1922 tells the life story of the curator who was the figure behind the transportation of the blue whale carcass. Ouwens began his career as a soldier, but at the end of his life was known as the curator of the zoological museum after 16 years of working there.

The Zoological Museum was popular in the Dutch East Indies at the time because of the diverse collection of preserved animals on display there. Not only Europeans visited, but also natives. Ouwens organized the storage of the museum's collections, including collecting some of them.

Since his military career, Ouwens has been a collector. Together with his colleague Haeckel, the two collected reptiles, collecting specimens of insects and shells. Ouwens visited Banda in 1909 to collect various types of birds, fish and other sea creatures, including sperm whale fetuses. In 1911 he visited the west coast of Sumatra to collect a number of mammals, birds, monkeys and mountain antelopes. Ouwens sometimes brought the museum's collection of specimens alive.

Ouwens had to go through all kinds of difficulties to transport the blue whale carcass weighing almost 6,400 kilograms by traveling 1,500 kilometers from Pameungpeuk to Buitenzorg. The bones of the whale carcass were cleaned and reassembled and have become the mainstay collection of the Bogor Zoological Museum to this day.

Whale strandings still occur several times in the Dutch East Indies. De Preanger-bode newspaper on October 1, 1920 reported the stranding of a whale on Pantelaboe Beach near Perbaoengan. The whale was reportedly 14 meters long. The locals had dragged the whale carcass to Perbaoengan.

Then Bataviaasch nieuwsblad on September 16, 1921 reported the stranding of a 19-meter-long whale on the beach in Sitoebondo. Furthermore, the daily De Indische courant on October 17, 1923 reported the stranding of a whale with a length of 11 meters, a height of 1.5 meters, and a width of 2.5 meters in Purwodadi.

Until now, whales are still often found stranded on beaches throughout Indonesia on their migratory journey across the world's waterways.

* Translated from this article by Khumaira Birru Al Walidain.