Naden Harbor Carcass

The real thing? the Naden Harbour carcass.

Unknown animal discovered in the stomach of a

recently caught sperm whale at the Naden Harbour

whaling station (Queen Charlotte Islands, BC) in the

summer of 1937. The creature was described by a

witness as ‘The remains of a Sperm Whale’s Lunch,

a creature of reptilian appearance 10 ft 6 in in length

with animal-like vertebrae and a tail similar to that of

a horse. The head resembles that of a large dog with

features of a horse and the turn down nose of a camel.”

The Naden Harbour staff were well-acquainted with

fetal baleen whales as shown in the photograph with

staff member Jim Wakelen, an eyewitness to the

unknown creature, with a baleen whale fetus. The

carcass was located in the first stomach, where no

digestion takes place. The Harbor staff commented

on the body having very little damage and described

it as a single entire animal with a thin white film on

the surface. The animal was hailed as a "juvenile

Cadborosaurus" in the press. The carcass was

shipped to the American Whaling Company home

base in Bellevue, Washington, where it was shown

to the public in a barrel of acetone.

The carcass was then transported to Victoria B.C. where Francis Kermode, the director of the museum,

had dismissed it as the remains of a fetal baleen whale; it was then presumably discarded.

Here are three newspaper articles on the Naden Harbour

carcass appearing in the Victoria Colonist July 10th 1937,

the Bellevue American July 15 1937, and again in the

Victoria Colonist July 24 1937.

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With the efforts of Dr. Paul Leblond and Dr. Ed Bousfield, in searching archives, contacting news

publishers as well as Jim Wakelen, who had personally witnessed the carcass, here is a detailed

timeline of the short but active history of the Naden Harbour carcass.

Temporal History, 1937.

July 4. Slender 3.5 m carcass of unidentified aquatic prey animal removed by flensers from the fore

stomach of a large bull sperm whale harpooned 8-10 hours previously on the continental slope off

Langara I. On instructions from station manager F. S. Huband, the carcass was immediately placed on

a table and packing boxes that had been suitably prepared for photography with white cloth and white

board backgrounds. At least three black and white photographs were taken, presumably on "Brownie

box" cameras, from variously different angles and heights, at distances of about 8-10 ft. from the

carcass, by two different photographers (F. S. Huband, and G. V. Boorman, medical officer). No human

images are in these photos. Among the other staff witnesses are whaling captain Finn John, station

blacksmith James Wakelen and his father Cyril Wakelen, bookkeeper. Curatorial treatment of the

carcass was confirmed by eyewitness Jim Wakelen, that following photography the carcass was coiled

up and preserved in salt.

July 5-6. Carcass in transit aboard CPR ship, from Naden Harbour to the APWC (American Pacific

Whaling Company) winter headquarters at Bellevue, WA.

July 8 -22. Carcass, in tub of acetone, was placed on display, to general public, at the APWC

headquarters building at 9905 NE Lake Washington Boulevard in Bellevue.

July 23. Carcass transported by whaler from Bellevue dock to Canadian whaling substation in Victoria,

B. C., at the southeast end of the Pt. Ellis (Bay St.) bridge.

July 25. Francis Kermode, Director, RBC museum, examined specimen, presumably aboard the whale

boat. He declares the carcass to be that of a (fetal) baleen whale. Pronouncement is made to the press

(Victoria Colonist, July 25, 1937).

July 28. Dr. Ian McTaggart Cowan, RBCM vertebrate zoologist, returns to Victoria from field work in

Revelstoke B. C. to find: no carcass in museum collections, no entry in museum accession book, and no

mention of the episode by the Director (Kermode) to him.

Naden Harbour Carcass