Art the Whale

Art the Whale By Gary Noy Reprinted from Sierra Heritage, March-April 1989 Used by permission of the author A mysterious body A body floats up on the beach. It is discovered, identified, and found to have eight aliases. The body is dismembered, crudely jammed into dirty barrels, roughly tossed into the back of a truck, and buried in the dead of night by the light of automobile headlamps. Neighbors hear strange noises, and smell even stranger odors. Vats of unidentified liquid boil ominously at the site. Multinational corporations and government officials are involved. Eleven months pass. The body is exhumed and reassembled. Scientists look with delight at their reconstructed creature. A scene from Frankenstein or perhaps the opening lines of a macabre Edgar Allen Poe short story? No, it is the true story of Art the Whale, centerpiece exhibit at the Sierra Natural History Museum. California Gray Whale, Eschrichtius robustus The California Gray Whale exhibit is but one of many fo ... Read full article.