The Lee Kong Chian National History Museum (LKCNHM) of the Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore (NUS), is conducting studies on a baleen whale carcass that was discovered in Singapore’s waters on 6 September 2025. LKCNHM was alerted by the National Parks Board to the discovery of the whale carcass in the waters off Tanjong Pagar. The Museum monitored the situation closely as preparations for the salvage were being processed.  

“Preliminary assessment indicates that the whale carcass is at an advanced stage of decomposition and so the cause of death is unclear. Meanwhile, we are working to find out as much as we can about the animal”, said Dr Marcus Chua, Curator of Mammalia at LKCNHM, who is leading the operation.   

While preparations were still ongoing, the whale’s delicate carcass was reported to have drifted towards the Marina Bay Cruise Centre on 12 September. To prevent it from being lost to the open sea, Museum staff worked with Singapore Salvage Engineers (SSE) to secure the remains. Identified as a rorqual whale Balaenoptera sp., a filter-feeding baleen whale species, the incomplete specimen measures approximately 6.3 metres in length and is estimated to weigh about six tonnes. It is now safely secured in a restricted area for processing and further study.  

It has been a decade since LKCNHM has had the extraordinary opportunity to encounter and study a whale carcass found in Singapore waters.  During the Museum’s opening in 2015, the carcass of a sperm whale—later affectionately known as Jubi Lee—washed up near Jurong Island in the same year. The specimen of Jubi Lee has become one of the most iconic features in the Museum’s gallery and a treasured part of Singapore’s natural heritage.  

Associate Professor Darren Yeo, Head of LKCNHM, shared, “It is both moving and serendipitous that another whale carcass should arrive in our waters during our 10th anniversary year—exactly 10 years after the Museum’s launch and the discovery of Jubi Lee —just as we have been reflecting on a decade of research, public engagement, and conservation.”   

The 2025 baleen whale find also echoes an earlier chapter of Singapore’s natural history. In 1907, the Raffles Museum at Stamford Road (now the National Museum of Singapore) put on display the skeleton of a 13.4-metre blue whale skeleton that had stranded near Melaka in 1892. This specimen was a major attraction until it was formally gifted to the National Museum of Malaysia (Muzium Negara) in 1974.  

“Whale encounters in Singapore waters are rare. Hence, each stranding provides unique opportunities to study these large marine mammals,” said Dr Chua.  

The Museum is currently studying the carcass and has collected tissue samples for future genetic analysis. More details on the dissection process and subsequent findings will be shared in due course.