Pygmy Blue Whale 

Curriculum links

Learning areas

  • Science
  • Social Studies
  • Mathematics

Which strands will it fit with?

  • Science - Living World
  • Social Studies - The Economic World, Place and Environment 
  • Mathematics - Measurement 

Key Competencies

Thinking, Relating to others

Levels of achievement

Levels 1-4  

Year group

Years 1-8

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Which topics of study can it support?

  • New Zealand Flora and Fauna
  • New Zealand Society Past and Present

 

How long might this take?

Allow 5-10 minutes.

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Where do I find it?

  • Level 2, Mountains 2 Sea.
  • Lost? Ask a Te Papa Host.

Why should I take my class to visit this?

  • See how large a ‘pygmy’ blue whale is.
  • Meet one of Te Papa’s most amazing natural history specimens.
  • See the skeleton of a young male who may have been attacked by a gang and then tragically killed in an ocean highway accident!
  • Find out about the largest creatures that ever lived.

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What is there to do there?

  • Stand underneath the whale and look up to see how big this whale is.
  • Walk up the ramp to get a closer view.
  • Explore nearby NatureSpace to find a skeleton of a killer whale (the type of whale that attacked this pygmy blue whale) and other related information on marine creatures.
  • Think about crawling through a whale’s blood vessel (some whales have blood vessels large enough for a child to actually crawl through!)
  • Ask the children to join hands standing with their arms outstretched - how many children does it take to reach the end of the whale. Add approximately four more children to see how long this whale would have been if it had grown to full size.
  • Tell the story of Paikea (or see how many people have seen the movie Whale Rider). Refer below for a brief description.

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What should I know about this?

  • This is a pygmy blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus brevicauda), which is a subspecies of the blue whale. There are three kinds of blue whale of which the pygmy blue is one kind. These are long, slender, streamlined whales, the females of which grow up to 27 metres long with a flat head and mouth about six metres long.
  • A whale is not a fish. Whales are mammals and are fully aquatic carnivores. The collective term for whales, dolphins, and porpoises is Cetacea or cetaceans.
  • The suspended skeleton in Mountains to Sea comes from a whale that was hit by a container ship in the northern waters of New Zealand in 1994. The impact of the ship smashed a large number of the whale’s bones and killed it. However, from raking scratches and cuts on its body, flippers, and flukes, it is clear that it had been attacked by killer whales before being struck by the ship. The skeleton was cleaned and assembled for Te Papa’s opening in February 1998.
  • The whale was towed to Motutapu Island in Auckland Harbour where it was ‘flensed’, (de-fleshed) of its blubber and flesh. The bones were then enclosed in sea cages where marine bacteria and the action of the salt water cleaned off the remaining flesh. The bones were then steam-cleaned and left in the sun to bleach and further dry out. The whole process took many months and afterwards the skeleton was further steam-cleaned to remove more of the oil.
  • The animal was 20.6 metres long and is that of a sub adult or ‘adolescent’ male.
  • Some fully grown females of this subspecies grow to 27 metres long, while the males grow to about 24 metres.
  • By comparison, the largest female southern blue whale ever caught stretched to 33.5 metres.
  • Blue whales are the biggest creatures on Earth today and perhaps the biggest creatures that have ever lived on Earth.
  • Their hearts are as big as a small motorcar.
  • Ten tonnes of blood pumps around their bodies.
  • It is thought that blue whales may live 60-90 years.
  • All records of New Zealand whale strandings are kept at Te Papa.
  • The world’s whales are divided into two types: those with teeth (such as killer whales) and those without teeth known as ‘whalebone’ or ‘baleen’ whales.
  • Baleen is made up of hundreds of plates made of hair-like material that serves as a sieve. These baleen plates hang down from the roof of the mouth like a hairy comb.
  • Although there is a tail bone, you will not see the fluke on this specimen because the flukes are made of dense connective tissue like collagen fibres and have no bone through them.
  • Among Māori, whales were thought to be like rangatira, chiefs, so high-ranking men were sometimes compared to them. They were also associated with rich food and abundance.
  • Legend of Paikea - the ancestor Paikea is well-known and claimed throughout Polynesia. There are many stories about him that are honoured, commemorated, and disputed, especially through whakapapa (genealogy) lines, in Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa (the Pacific), and various tribal areas of Aotearoa.
  • The legendary chief Kahutia Te Rangi, from Ngāti Porou, was carried on the back of the whale Paikea. Paikea saved his life when Ruatapu (his jealous brother) tried to kill him by drowning him in the sea. Paikea took Kahutia Te Rangi far away from Ruatapu and arrived safely in Aotearoa. On arrival in Aotearoa, Kahutia Te Rangi assumed the name of his pet whale Paikea. Paikea stayed in Aotearoa and settled at Whangara. He married many women and had many children. Paikea the arikinui, Paikea the tipua, Paikea the tahuhu of Te Tairawhiti. He tipua! He taniwha! Hi!

 

Possible topics for discussion

  • What did the whaling industry provide for New Zealand and New Zealanders? Discuss those early immigrants and the tools of their trade and what this industry provided.
  • Where were the major whaling stations in New Zealand? Shore-based whaling stations started in New Zealand in the mid 1820s at Tory Channel and Preservation Inlet, and in the following decade stations were established in many other localities, particularly around Foveaux Strait, Banks Peninsula, and Cook Strait, although small whaling stations were dotted all around the country.
  • Stand under the whale’s jaw and see if you can fit the whole class into the whale’s mouth. How many children can you fit into this whale’s mouth?
  • To estimate the length of this whale and then measure it using a non-standard measurement unit, ask the children to join hands standing with their arms outstretched - how many children does it take to reach the end of the whale. Add approximately four more children to see how long this whale would have been if it had grown to full size.
  • Why does Te Papa collect whales? Since 1865, the Museum has been collecting data and specimens from stranded whales. We want to look at what species of whale occur in the waters around New Zealand and to learn about their biology, diet, and behaviour. We want to see how the distribution of species around New Zealand fits in with the distribution of species in other parts of the world. We want to look at the parameters of different species and to see if we can find new species or records of species for New Zealand.
  • What do we learn from whale strandings? Whales are difficult species to study as they can move great distances and spend a lot of time under water where they are hard to follow for any period of time. Strandings allow us to look at a number of different aspects of their biology, reproductive status, pathology, and diet. Te Papa primarily collects the skeletons of stranded whales to look at the variation within and between species, and how the animals develop with age. We also look at how they vary from different geographical locations. Holding collections in perpetuity allows us to compare material collected 150 years ago to material that is collected now and see things such as the changes in the genetic diversity of population.
  • All whales eat meat: they are carnivores. Discuss the difference between baleen and toothed whales and the food they eat.
  • What should we do if we see a whale stranding? If you see a whale stranding you should call the local Department of Conservation office or call Te Papa and we will call the appropriate subject expert.
  • What are whales’ closest relatives? It is clear from genetic studies and studies of fossils that whales are related to hoofed mammals.
  • How does a seal differ from a cetacean? Whales are fully aquatic and seals come ashore to breed; whales by definition are fully aquatic carnivores. There is another group of fully aquatic marine mammals - they are herbivores called sireniens, and the dugong and manatees are the living examples of these.
  • Whales are very important in traditional Māori culture and still are today. When a whale became beached it was utilised as a resource. No part of the whale was wasted. How many different uses for parts of a whale can you think of (remember to include bones, oil, flesh)?
  • Who are the main countries that still practice whaling?  (Japan, Norway, and Iceland). Do they have a right to hunt whales? Why? Why not?
  • How many species of whale are in New Zealand waters?  The term whale covers a number of different groups that collectively are known as cetaceans, for instance there is a species called the killer whale, which is in fact the largest member of the dolphin family. So considering all cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) that occur in our waters, there are about 41 species of cetaceans in New Zealand waters.
  • Is a dolphin a whale? Again dolphins fall into the category of cetaceans, which can be divided into two main groups - those without teeth (the baleen whales) and those with (the toothed whales). Dolphins are one family of toothed whales, so you can generally consider a dolphin to be a small toothed whale.

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Further information

 

Related objects

  • NatureSpace Discovery Centre, Level 2. Here you can see the skeleton of the killer whale, the type that attacked this pygmy blue whale.
  • The X-ray Room, Level 2, just past Mountains to Sea. Here you can see other skeletal specimens of marine creatures.
  • The Guard family, Level 4, inside the Passports exhibition. This exhibit shows an early immigrant family and some of the tools and weapons these early migrants used for hunting whales and seals.
  • Ngāti Pikiao pataka (food storage house), Level 4, next to Te Hau ki Turanga. Take a look at the raparapa or maihi (arms) of the pataka and see if you can spot the two whales carved into the raparapa. These whales represent ‘plenty’ or the ‘abundance of food’, and are also revered as guardians.

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Pygmy Blue Whale

Related links

New Zealand Government