You may know someone with a big heart, but you probably haven't
seen one the size of the whale heart that is on display now in
Beaufort. The heart of a male sperm whale was put on display at
the North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort Thursday morning.
After a nine-year, 2,300 mile journey, the heart and skeleton of
a male sperm whale is ready for the public to see this
Valentine's Day week. The whale is named "Echo" and his skeleton
currently hangs in the museum. "We should all think about our
hearts more often in many ways. It's good to have this display
and since I'm a marine biologist I think it's great to bring
biology into it and educate people," said Victoria Thayer. "It
felt very rubbery. I wasn't grossed out by it or anything, but I
think it's fascinating that they're able to preserve it like
that so that you can actually visualize what the inside looks
like." said visitor Nan Holton. The heart was plastinated at the
University of Tennessee Knoxville. Plastination is a process
used to preserve bod