Dead whale washes ashore in Newfoundland cove: ‘It’s not a very nice smell’

Kennedy made a few trips to the beach to check on the remains, saying the smell didn’t seem to put off a steady stream of gawkers keen to get a glimpse of the whale, its long pectoral fins and flattened body splayed across rocks smeared with whale grease.

Kennedy said the strong northerly winds and rough seas in the area over the last few days likely pushed the dead animal onto the beach, where waves reaching roughly nine or 10 metres were crashing offshore.

He suspects the whale may have been crushed by thick pack ice offshore and then drifted into Outer Cove. He said the winds were still blowing hard onto the shore.

Jack Lawson, a Fisheries research scientist in St. John’s, visited the site Monday and said it appeared to be a male humpback measuring about 12 metres that had likely died weeks earlier judging by the extensive level of decomposition. He said it was quite flat and that most of the skin on upper part of its body had sloughed off.

“It’s kind of collapsed into what looks like a big, flabby, pleated bag,” he said. “The rocks were quite slick with fresh whale fat and people were wandering around and someone even put their dog on top of the whale to let it run around. People will be wondering why their car smells so interesting this morning.”

Lawson said he’s become used to the smell after doing multiple necropsies and examinations of dead whales, but said the sweet, sickly smell can bind to the skin even when you’re wearing gloves.

“Usually when I come home from one of these things, my wife and daughter stop me in the hallway and I have to strip my clothes off and put them in the washing machine right away,” he said with a chuckle.

Kennedy said it wasn’t yet clear what would be done with the whale, but he was contacting government departments to see if the community of about 2,200 people might get some help in removing it. That could involve towing it to another, more remote inlet or burying it.

“The weather here hasn’t been warm, but when it warms up it’s only going to get worse,” he said. “The whale is high and dry so we’ll wait and see if the tide comes back up, but if not we’ll have to make arrangements to have something done with it.”

Lawson said it’s not uncommon for marine mammals to wash ashore in the province, which is a popular feeding habitat for many species. He said humpbacks — also known as big-winged New Englanders because of their large fins — feast on capelin, herring and other bait-fish in the area and are at good population levels.

The Canadian Press

by Canadian Press

Dead whale washes ashore in Newfoundland cove: ‘It’s not a very nice smell’

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