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It washed up on the rocks on Friday, and it has been attracting crowds of fascinated onlookers ever since.
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But the whale could be potentially dangerous – town manager Emily Butler told AFP:
It’s sitting on our beach and filling up with [methane] gases, and there is a concern that it can explode.
I’m told that it could only explode if the carcass is punctured or cut. Safety is one issue that we’re concerned with, but whether it explodes or doesn’t, as our temperatures warm up there’s going to be an awful smell from this animal as it decays.
The whale is 25 meters long and could weigh up to 180 tons, and appears to have bloated to more than twice its normal girth.
A brave man on the beached whale in Trout River Twitter / @nicolewheeler15Twitter / @nicolewheeler15 / @nicolewheeler15
Butler said the town of about 600 people does not have the resources to safely deal with the carcass itself.
Government agencies have refused to get involved, saying it should be left to naturally decompose – they warned the townspeople not to drag it out to sea where a floating carcass would get in the way of passing boats.
So they can’t move it, nor can they leave it where it is. The thing could blow at any second, and it stinks. There’s only one solution: RUN.
Friday 22 November, 2024
Friday 22 November, 2024
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A Canadian fishing community is being terrorised by an exploding whale
A TINY FISHING community in Newfoundland, Canada is facing a rather unusual problem this week.
A giant, dead blue whale beached on the shores of the small town of Trout River could be days away from exploding.
The massive mammal is one of nine endangered blue whales that is believed to have died in heavy ice off Canada’s Atlantic coast several weeks ago.
It washed up on the rocks on Friday, and it has been attracting crowds of fascinated onlookers ever since.
But the whale could be potentially dangerous – town manager Emily Butler told AFP:
The whale is 25 meters long and could weigh up to 180 tons, and appears to have bloated to more than twice its normal girth.
Butler said the town of about 600 people does not have the resources to safely deal with the carcass itself.
Government agencies have refused to get involved, saying it should be left to naturally decompose – they warned the townspeople not to drag it out to sea where a floating carcass would get in the way of passing boats.
So they can’t move it, nor can they leave it where it is. The thing could blow at any second, and it stinks. There’s only one solution: RUN.
© AFP 2014
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