A skeleton of fin whale, also called the finback whale, will be preserved at Museum Victoria after the creature washed up on an isolated Victorian beach last week.

The world's second largest animal, the fin whale was found dead on Levy's Beach near Warrnambool and is Victoria's first complete specimen.

According to Museum Victoria senior curator vertebrate palaeontology, Dr. Erich Fitzgerald, this whale was the first of its type to wash up on Victorian shores in minimum 160 years. A 16-metre-long dead whale was removed by the Department of Environment and Primary Industries and the museum.

To dissect the animal and to move its bones, excavators, such as those used on roads and in building sites, are used. Museum Victoria preparator Peter Swinkels said the skull of the whale weighs between 800 kilograms and 1.3 tons alone. He has 20-year experience dissecting whales and said that whale was in poor health before its death.

"The mechanical equipment lifted it up the beach and onto trailers. The bones were then taken to a farm where a farmer had prepared a sand bed for us", said Peter Swinkels.

The bones will be left on the sand bed until the leftover flesh decomposes with the help of insects and bacteria. This process is expected to take 12 to 18 months. After this process, the bones will be taken to the museum where they will be studied and exhibited.

Fin whales are endangered species. Mature adults weigh up to 80 tons and can reach 27 meters in length. They eat 1,000 kilograms of food a day and a single gulp of water consists 70,000 liters of water. Since the early 20th century, this whale was badly affected by commercial whaling and at present they are hardly found in the southern hemisphere's oceans.