For more than a year, a 50-foot whale has been buried in a field in Raleigh under a pile of manure. On Monday, scientists began digging up the bones.
Bacteria in the manure helps eat away the flesh, making it easier for scientists to the skeleton.
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The bones are that of a northern right whale. Officials said the whale was pregnant and died after being hit by a boat.
Scientists at the Museum of Natural Sciences will clean the bones and may eventually exhibit them to the public.
The northern right whale is considered an endangered species. There are only 300 left in the world.