How old is the specimen?

Because the bones of the skeleton were soft and pliable when first removed from the surrounding clay, naturalist Zadock Thompson immersed them in an "animal glue" to harden and strengthen them as they dried out. Although this aided in the reconstruction of the skeleton, it "contaminated" the carbon in the bones, making later Carbon14 dating techniques impossible.

For this reason, we are presently only able to say with any conviction that the age of the whale is between 12,500 and 10,000 years, the time when the Champlain Sea was known to exist in the area.

How old was the whale when it died?
Was it male or female?
Did it "beach" itself?
How did it die?
Is it an extinct species?
Are there more buried whales in Vermont?

Click to read about Zadock Thompson, George W. Perkins, or current research on the Charlotte whale.

Click to return to Directory of Exhibits or UVM Home Page.

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Charlotte, The Vermont Whale; Wesley.Wright@uvm.edu jefflhowe@verizon.net