Impressive whale skeleton installation to be displayed at Sheffield museum post lockdown

Dave Clay, 65, from Crookes, gave the carcass of a long-finned pilot whale to Weston Park Museum to put on display when the premises can reopen after the second lockdown is scheduled to be lifted on December 2.

The biology lecturer who found the four-metre long skeleton buried in the sand on a beach on the island of South Uist in Scotland two years ago, has previously hung the whale bones from Blonk Street bridge in the city centre, Endcliffe Park and Stanage Edge in recent months.

Dave, who completely rebuilt the carcass from head to tail, was motivated to hold installations of the skeleton across Sheffield during lockdown, because of his passion for biology.

“I love biology especially evolution and adaptation”, he said.

"The anatomy of the whale is just one example of how it draws us in and helps, with a little biological insight, illustrate the fact that we are related to all living things.

"I mean that literally.

"None of us would be here if our parents didn’t have children and so it was for them and all of their ancestors.

“Of course, if we went back far enough, we would see in our branch of life’s tree, that our ancestors looked quite different from Homo sapiens.

"As we marched backwards through time, we would also see other branches of life, including that of the whale's, joining with our own and ultimately converging in a shared ancestor.

“Now that’s something to smile about when you’re dropping off to sleep.”

The 65-year-old biologist, who used to teach at Sheffield College, hopes to return to the profession when the current coronavirus restrictions allow, by putting on classes about evolution and adaptation to ‘anyone with a sense of wonder’.

Dave added: “The pilot whale skeleton installations were done simply to share something fabulous.

"It’s pretty special to see people with a smile and an expression of wonder and it’s great to hear children shout, ‘It’s a dinosaur!’“There is one hidden agenda, and that is to stimulate a wonder in biological science.

"It’s fabulous!”

While Weston Park Museum remains closed under the latest lockdown measures, the building aims to display the new installation when restrictions are set to be lifted next month.

Curator of natural science at Museums Sheffield Alistair McLean commented: “We’re really grateful to Dave Clay for so generously donating this remarkable specimen to the museums.

"The huge array of wildlife represented in the city’s natural science collection allows to us tell stories that span evolution and how animals adapt to their environment, through to extinction and the impact of human action on habitats and ecosystems.

"This specimen is all the more poignant because of its connection with the pandemic and lockdown.

"It will make a fantastic addition to the displays at Weston Park Museum and we can’t wait to share it with visitors here once the museum reopens.”

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