Beached

A blue whale is the largest, most majestic animal ever to live. They also stink majestically when they wash up on beaches and start to rot, and they also have a tendency to explode as they decompose, as Trout River has discovered. The 81-foot-long whale apparently died in heavy ice and washed up near Trout River’s main boardwalk. For the 600-person tourist town on Newfoundland island the huge whale carcass, now bloated to twice its normal size, is an existential threat. The smell, the health hazard, and the possibility methane gasses building inside the carcass will cause it to explode are all drawbacks to having a giant dead whale in your town. The problem now is that getting rid of a huge whale isn’t cheap. Trout River doesn’t have the resources to dispose of it, but Canadian officials say it’s the town’s responsibility. Check out a local newscast about the whale problem here. And here’s a video of a rotting sperm whale being punctured to release the pressure of the methane gas