A plan by Ripley’s Believe It or Not to dig up a 13-metre sperm whale’s remains on the North Shore of P.E.I. has hit a few more snags.
Environmental rules require the company to put in place measures to prevent erosion before it starts digging, because the site is close to the shore.
“We now have a soil erosion problem that we weren’t prepared for. We are going to have to build some sort of retainment wall before we can dig,” said Edward Meyer, vice-president of exhibits and archives at Ripley Entertainment.
“We’ve had the government inspection. We know what we’re supposed to do. We’re waiting for some signatures and some rubber stamps and until that happens we can’t put a shovel in the ground.”
The delay means the dig might not happen this year.
The company buried the whale 21 years ago with plans to eventually recover it and display it. It’s buried on a property in the Darnley area, north of Summerside.
Ripley’s officials were on the Island last month to get things underway. There was some difficulty in locating the burial site, and concerns from the landowner to deal with.
Meyer said the landowner wants the digging done before the end of September, so unless the federal permit comes through in the next few weeks the dig will have to wait until next summer.
The whale skeleton will likely be housed in the Ripley’s Museum in Niagara Falls, Ont., said Meyer.
Via: cbc.ca