The founders of the Whale Interpretive Center in Telegraph Cove, a tiny community on Vancouver Island, are mourning his loss. It was the fruit of their passion for marine mammals.
The Whale Interpretation Center, which opened in 2002, was destroyed in a large fire in Telegraph Cove, on December 31.
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A fire has destroyed part of the historic Telegraph Cove boardwalk.
Photo: Photo provided by Port McNeil Fire Rescue.
Mary Borrowman explains that her husband has been collecting marine mammal skeletons for 40 years.
We had the largest collection of marine mammal skeletons that the public could see in Western Canada and it was recognized worldwide
she says.
A community in mourning
Mary Borrowman says she saw the flames destroy the interpretation center. It was hard to watch
she confides, on the verge of tears.
Emily Gatto, a former employee of the center who lives in the nearby community of Port McNeill, is devastated by the loss of the facility. She says she met her husband there in 2019 and got married there in 2023.
The centerpiece of the center was a whale skeleton more than 18 m long suspended in the air.
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Emily Gatto, a former employee of the Telegraph Cove whale interpretation center, which was destroyed in the fire on December 31, 2024, was married under the skeleton of a whale in 2023.
Photo: Provided by Emily Gatto
We had the impression that [les baleines] swam above us, it was an incredible perspective of these magnificent animals that most people would not have the opportunity to see.
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Impact on the local economy
The loss of the center will have economic repercussions for the entire north of the island, believes Emily Gatto, as it was a popular tourist attraction.
The effects will be felt until the center is rebuilt
she adds.
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Telegraph Cove has a population of only 20 people and is located approximately 200 km northwest of Campbell River.
Photo: - / Justine Beaulieu-Poudrier
A wave of solidarity could also make reconstruction possible. Mary Borrowman and Emily Gatto say they started a fundraiser to build a new center.
If the collection of whale skeletons has been completely reduced to ashes, the founders have two other skeletons, those of a pygmy sperm whale and a dolphin, which are currently on the island Salt Springwhere they were to be assembled.
Although this is far from the number of skeletons the center had before the fire, Mary Borrowman remain hopeful, because the establishment opened its doors with only two carcasses.
We started with two [alors] we can do it again.
No one was injured in the fire, but the flames also destroyed other businesses, including a restaurant, a pub and the offices of two tourism companies.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
With information from Tessa Vikander
