Canada - Dead whale may explode in Newfoundland town, official warns

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Trout River
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CBS/APApril 30, 2014, 11:14 AM

Dead whale may explode in Canada town, official warns

TROUT RIVER, Newfoundland -- The 60-ton carcass of a blue whale is rotting along the shoreline of a town on Canada's east coast, triggering concerns from the community it could burst.

Emily Butler, the town clerk in Trout River, Newfoundland said Tuesday the 26-meter blue whale is beached next to a community boardwalk and is emitting a powerful stench that is spreading through the town of 600 people. Butler said she and others in town are concerned that the methane gas caused by decomposition could cause the animal to burst.

"We have a concern ... because I'm not sure with the heat and gases that are trapped inside of this mammal if at some point in time it will explode," Butler said.

But Jack Lawson, a research scientist with Canada's Fisheries Department, said the risk of such a blast is "very small."
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"The risk will come from somebody with a sharp blade who decides they want to cut a hole in the side to see what happens, or if someone is foolish enough to walk on it," Lawson said.

He said he is aware of YouTube videos showing a bloated, beached sperm whale in the Faroe Islands that suddenly explodes as a scientist uses a large, flensing knife to cut open its underside. (Warning: The video below contains graphic content).

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http://www.cbsnews.com/news/dead-whale-may-explode-in-canada-town-official-warns/

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Re: Canada - Dead whale may explode in Newfoundland town, official warns

Whale carcasses to be removed for Canadian museum to be named

CBC NewsPosted: May 01, 2014 11:40 AM NT|Last Updated: May 01, 2014 11:40 AM NT

Residents of two communities in western Newfoundland should know more sometime today about how and when the carcasses of two blue whales will be removed from their respective beaches, and sent to a museum.

On Wednesday, federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea said the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) was working on an agreement with a Canadian museum to take ownership of the remains of the beached whales from Rocky Harbour and Trout River. A sperm whale carcass also washed ashore in the Cape St. George area. .

The name of the museum wasn't released.

Blue whales are the largest animals in the world, and the affected towns have been begging for help to remove them before the bodies explode.
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The dead blue whale in Trout River has been expanding since it washed ashore several weeks ago.

The carcass is longer than two school buses.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/whale-carcasses-to-be-removed-for-canadian-museum-to-be-named-1.2628116