Blue whale Hope chases out dinosaur Dippy as London Natural History Museum’s star skeleton

SCIENCE Blue whale Hope chases out dinosaur Dippy as London Natural History Museum’s star skeleton
th-14--Hope--chGH623FMRH3jpgjpg
AFP
LONDON, JULY 15, 2017 14:37 IST
UPDATED: JULY 15, 2017 14:41 IST
The towering replica skeleton of the dinosaur had been in the museum for more than 100 years.

‘Hope’ the blue whale took over from ‘Dippy’ the dinosaur as the centrepiece of the revamped atrium of London’s Natural History Museum on July 13, 2017 despite a spirited campaign to keep the much-loved attraction.

The towering replica skeleton had been in the museum for more than 100 years and news of its impending demise in 2015 sparked an outcry from dinosaur fans who sent the hashtag #savedippy trending on Twitter.Some 14,000 people signed a petition to stop the move.

But the museum said the skeleton of the blue whale, the largest animal to have lived on Earth and which has been hunted to near extinction, would better raise awareness of mankind's impact on nature.