At this rate the only whales left for us to wonder at will be in museums | Philip Hoare

When great whales are dying in numbers not seen since hunting's heyday, naming the Natural History Museum's new exhibit Hope seems a forlorn gestureo Philip Hoare is an author and natural historianHope, the name given to the Natural History Museum's newly articulated blue whale, diving over visitors in a sublime spectacle, is already starting to look like a forlorn gesture. Last week, shortly after the exquisitely beautiful specimen was unveiled with determined optimism by Sir David Attenborough and the Duchess of Cambridge, news came in of the death of yet another North Atlantic right whale off the coast of Canada - the eighth carcass to be found since June. Related: Seven right whales found dead in 'devastating' blow to endangered animal Continue reading...