I grew up going to the Natural History Museum in NYC and it’s a huge part of the reason I went into biology. The blue whale is amazing to see and experience. I had a mini panic attack thinking they were taking it down, but couldn’t confirm it on other sites.
I’m very relieved to find that it was just an Onion article.
Used to visit the natural history museum as a kid. People would go to the museum just to hear the whale's moans of pain as it slowly bled out. It was actually pretty romantic. Definitely one of my favorite exhibits, right after the living t-rex bones and the planets that feel pain.