Taiji Whale Museum

Taiji Whale Museum entrance. Photo provided by Suikotei.

The Taiji Whale Museum (太地町立くじらの博物館 in Japanese) is a museum and aquarium located in the town of Taiji in the Wakayama Prefecture of Japan. It opened in 1969, and has kept killer whales on and off from 1978 to 2010.

## Founding and Early History

The Taiji Whale Museum was opened in 1969. The museum was intended to showcase the history of whaling in the town of Taiji, as well as display local species. That year, demand from the Taiji Whale Museum for pilot whales started regular regular dolphin drive hunts in the town. Up until this points, dolphins were only occasionally driven in Taiji. The annual practice of dolphin driving in Taiji continues to this day.

## Display of Killer Whales

The Taiji Whale Museum's first killer whale was captured in 1978, and it died after only 5 days. The next year, the museum housed five whales that had been captured nearby. Three of the whales were transferred after a few months, while two of the whales, Tai and Chi, remained there until their deaths. In 1982, another three whales were captured in Taiji and all were brought to the museum. One died and the remaining whales moved to other facilities.

In 1985, two whales, Goro and Nami, were captured in Taiji and brought to the Taiji Whale Museum. Goro left after just a a month, but Nami ended up staying for the next 25 years. She was housed in a large sea pen behind the museum building.

Another whale captured in Taiji in 1986 spent a few months at the museum before leaving.

In 1997, killer whales were captured in Taiji for the last time. Two of the whales, Asuka and Ku, were brought to the Taiji Whale Museum. Asuka left after just a few days, but Ku remained. She was also housed in the sen pen behind the museum, though she was kept separately from Nami, as the older female was aggressive towards her. Ku was instead housed with two bottlenose dolphins.

In 2003, Ku was moved to the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium. They planned to start a breeding program with her, but Ku died in 2008. After Ku's death, Nami was brought to Port of Nagoya in 2010.  Nami died just a few months later, and a necropsy found that she had swallowed almost 500 small stones during her years at the Taiji Whale Museum.  After Nami's transfer, the Taiji Whale Museum has not kept any killer whales.

## Other Animals

The Taiji Whale Museum has housed (and continues to house) many other species of cetacean caught locally in Taiji, including short-finned pilot whales, false killer whales, Risso's dolphins, melon-headed whales, Pacific white-sided dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, striped dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins, and bottlenose dolphins.   The museum also used to house other marine mammals such as sea otters, Steller sea lions, South American sea lions, and harbor seals.

## Layout

The Taiji Whale Museum's killer whales were housed in a sea pen located in a cove behind the museum building. The whale show area in the cove is 50m by 210m, and it currently houses larger cetaceans such as pilot whales, false killer whales, and Risso's dolphins.

## Galleries

**Photos** of the Taiji Whale Museum

**Videos** of the Taiji Whale Museum

1. ↑ Whiting, Calloway Candace. 'Taiji Dolphin Drives Started in 1969 and Are Not a Part of Japanese Tradition'
2. ↑ '1 year anniversary of capture'
3. ↑ 'Arrive at the Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium / "Nami-chan" from Wakayama'
4. ↑ 'Autopsy Shows Killer Whale Nami Swallowed 180lbs of Stones Before Death'
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 'Taiji Whale Museum Facility'
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 'Specializing in Cetacean Breeding and Exhibition Taiji Whale Museum'