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The very large, very dead, very bloated blue whale that washed up on Trout River, N.L.’s, picturesque beach last Friday, along with a similarly dead whale that had washed up in nearby Rocky Harbour, are at the centre of an agreement between the federal government and the Royal Ontario Museum announced Thursday.

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The whales, initially left to rot and potentially explode, and cast as the responsibility of the two tiny municipalities to dispose of, have now been claimed by the government and its museum partner.

The plan, in its infant stage, is to take tissue samples from the rotting beasts and work to preserve their skeletons for study.

“Our government is pleased that we are able to work with the Royal Ontario Museum to preserve these rare whales in a meaningful way through this invaluable contribution to Canadian science,” Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, said in a statement.

The deaths of endangered blue whales off Newfoundland are a tragic loss but also a rare chance to study the world’s largest animal, says the head of the Royal Ontario Museum team that will handle their two carcasses.