Marine Mammal Research Day

  • Saturday, November 08, 2025
  • 10:00am - 2:00pm
  • Downtown Raleigh
Right whale fluke emerging from ocean.

Learn about some of the amazing work being done with marine mammals from NC experts. While you’re here, take a trip to the Museum’s Featured Exhibit: Blue Whales for free during Blue Whales Community Day (reserve tickets ahead of time)!

The NC Museum of Natural Sciences is a research-based museum with Museum staff who conduct novel research and steward our collections. Our Research Highlight Days feature these researchers and their fields of study. These events are held on the first floor of the Nature Research Center and feature themed tables and presentations.

Exhibits and Activities

Marine Mammal Stranding Investigations
UNCW Marine Mammal Stranding Program
Visitors will have the opportunity to explore real specimens like bones and baleen, learn about current projects, and talk to the scientists behind that research. Folks can also discover how to help with manatee conservation in our state.

Dolphin Dentistry: Using Teeth to Identify a Species
North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences Mammal Unit
Bottlenose dolphins are some of the most captivating marine animals known to man, but maybe they’re more mysterious than we once thought. Scientists recently discovered that there is not just one species of bottlenose dolphin, but two. Join us to learn about the differences between the two species and how we hope to tell them apart using their teeth!

Cetartiodactyla (Cetacean) Diversity
NC Museum of Natural Sciences
The Mammalogy Research Unit will share information on some of the lesser known marine mammals. We will have specimens from the Mammalogy Research Collection on hand to show unique characters of these amazing mammals.

Presentations- SECU Daily Planet Theater

Three adults are on a beach around a stranded bottlenose dolphin. A device is attached to the dolphin an it appears the humans are recording data.
11 AM What Can We Learn from North Carolina Marine Mammal Strandings
Victoria Thayer, North Carolina Marine Mammal Stranding Coordinator, North Carolina Aquariums, North Carolina State University
What are some reasons marine mammals strand? What can be learned from these strandings? Why does North Carolina have relatively high species diversity in strandings? Who responds to marine mammal strandings in North Carolina?


A Caucasian woman wearing a white shirt and glasses kneels in the middle of a pile of whale rib bones.
12 PM The Story of One North Atlantic Right Whale
Lisa Gatens, Collection Manager of Mammals, NC Museum of Natural Sciences
North Atlantic Right Whales are critically endangered.  This presentation tells the story of one such animal from the time she was first spotted by researchers to her untimely demise some 30 years later.  We will also discuss current conservation measures and how research on this individual has contributed to protection of the species.

 

 

Details

Details

Date:
November 8
Times:
10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Venue

Downtown Raleigh
11 West Jones Street
Raleigh, NC 27601 United States
+ Google Map
Phone:
919.707.9800

Organizer

Kari Wouk
919.707.9879