Dead Blue Whales Raising Big Stink in Newfoundland
B. McPherson
Three dead blue whales have washed ashore in Newfoundland.
These behemoths died this past winter when they and six of their pod were
trapped in sea ice. Usually when whales die they sink to the bottom and provide
nutrients to the other ocean dwellers. These ones floated long enough to land
on three different beaches.
What is the problem with that? These whales are endangered
and this gives everyone in the villages a rare chance to see one. The whales
are massive. A fully grown blue whale can reach 30 metres(98 ft) in length and
weigh 170 tonnes(190 tons). As it starts to decompose, that’s a huge amount of
rotten meat.
As the decomposition continues, bacteria are generating
methane gas. The whales’ skin is still holding the gases in, so the whales are
slowly inflating and beginning to look like the Goodyear blimp. While local
children are fascinated by the procedure, adults are beginning to worry that
the carcasses will explode. It is not a fantasy. A scientist sent to autopsy a
dead whale last year in the Faroe Islands had a near miss as he cut into the
belly of a two day dead whale.
These picturesque villages in Newfoundland depend on the
tourist industry during their short summers and are worried that visitors will
leave quickly if the rotting animals remain on their beaches. Getting rid of
them is not simple. While the villages have asked various government agencies
for help, so far all have declined assistance. Because the whales are
critically endangered with only an estimated 250 in the North Atlantic before
the nine were crushed in the ice, the settlements are not allowed to simply tow
the carcasses back out to sea.
They need a special permit.
For recordings of the blue whales song click here.
Blue whales were a prime target of 20th century
whalers who hunted them almost to extinction. World wide there are an extimated
10 000 left.
Sources:
Comments
Post a Comment