This skeleton is one of many hanging from below the ceiling on the upper floor of the Whale Museum.
This skeleton is of a young humpback, probably around 6-8 months old, which was found stranded just outside the harbor in Grímsey in 1999.
In August 1999, the Whale Museum (at that time Hvalamiðstótin) received a call from Magnús to some Bjarnasons in Grímsey, who asked if the Whale Museum wanted to take care of the whale's carcass. After finding out that it was a young calf, Norðursiglinga (one of the whale tagging companies in Húsavík) was contacted and the company lent the boat Knörrinn to pick up the carcass. we docked in Grímsey around midnight and arrived in Húsavík again the next morning.
A small stone was lying on the whale's stomach when we set off from Grímsey, and when we got 'home', people noticed that the stone was still in place, despite rolling over. The calf was therefore named Steina, as it was a female.
Steina weighed about 7 tons and was about 6 meters long, and it is likely that she was born in the Caribbean Sea early in 1999 and followed her mother north in search of food.
This and more information about Steina can be found at the Whale Museum - we look forward to seeing you!
To read more about the humpback, click here!
