'Moby's' Skull on Permanent Display at the National Museum of Scotland

The skull of a sperm whale found beached on the banks of the River Forth is to go on permanent display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh from Friday 7 June 2013.

The 40ft whale known affectionately as 'Moby' captured the heart of the nation after becoming disorientated and stranded while trying to swim inland.

Rescuers, including BP tugs and the pleasure boat Maid of the Forth, tried desperately to push him back out to sea. Unfortunately their efforts were in vain and sadly Moby beached and died on the foreshore at Airth on 31 March 1997 - the first sperm whale to be stranded in the Forth in over 200 years.

Following his death Moby's skeleton was placed in the care of National Museums Scotland's Natural Science collections, which is home to several million specimens, including one of the largest whale collections in the world.

Dr Andrew Kitchener, Principal Curator of Vertebrates, National Museums Scotland said:

'Moby's plight truly captured the heart of the nation and his skull is a dramatic and enticing specimen which represents the fantastic natural science collections we hold here'.

The one-and-a-half ton skull is displayed in the recently refurbished Grand Gallery at the National Museum of Scotland alongside other fascinating artifacts including the Cockcroft-Walton generator- developed at the University of Cambridge in the early 1930s to accomplish the first artificial splitting of the atom; a 4-metre long Tahitian feast bowl and a statue of James Watt which used to be in Westminster Abbey.