Whale skeleton reconstruction a labour of love for Jesse Tudor

When last we saw Jesse Tudor of Brier Island, Nova Scotia, he was showing off a lobster he caught last month that tipped the scales at almost 17 pounds.

But turns out this career fisherman has an incredible hobby rooted in attracting tourists and giving back to his small community.

Tudor collects whale bones that wash up on shore and reassembles them into a complete whale skeleton.

He says he got interested in whale bones after seeing a fin whale vertebra at his grandfather's camp that was used as a chair.

From there the collection started and at one time he created Whalehead Garden as a place to showcase whalebones from the island.

Using chainsaws and equipment normally found in auto body shops, he cuts away the remains of washed up whales and salvages the bones.

He has a couple of projects underway that are currently taking up parts of his backyard.

It's painstaking, smelly work and Tudor admits he got sick to his stomach three times salvaging bones for his latest project.

But he says he reconstructs the whales for tourists who come to Brier Island.

"I think that it's important for the region to actually be able to go to a specimen, rather than having to travel to Toronto,Ontario to see a Brier Island whale. They can come to Brier Island and see a Brier Island whale," he said.

Tudor has had offers to buy some of the bones, but he refuses, saying it's important to keep them all together.

He says it's his way of giving back to the community.