A porpoise skull that has been on display at the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea for a dozen years has gone missing, and staff at the Sidney attraction are hoping it will be returned.
The skull is believed to have gone missing on Jan. 8, said Tina Kelly, the centre’s director of learning and communications.
She said the loss was discovered Jan. 9 by someone who comes in early in the morning to clean and prepare the centre for opening.
It is isn’t clear whether the specimen is from a Dall’s porpoise or a harbour porpoise — the two porpoise species in the Salish Sea, Kelly said.
“It’s so useful for us and it was the only real skull we had that wasn’t permanently affixed to somewhere, that had its teeth in to show people,” she said.
The skull has been well used over the years, Kelly said, “so it does look battered and torn.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the centre at 250-665-7511.
