The carcass came to rest on an easily-accessible beach just a few miles north of where a giant sperm whale corpse washed up in November, 1970. The Oregon Highway Division had responsibility for disposing of the whale at that time, and their thinking was evidently along the lines that a dead whale was probably a lot like a huge boulder blocking a road construction project. The decision to use dynamite to obliterate the rotting, stinking whale carcass is now stuff of legend.

Regrettably, cooler heads prevail at the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, upon which the responsibility for disposing of the rare 40-foot fin whale falls today:

“We normally bury animals like this on the coast,” said Chris Havel, a state parks spokesman. “But the sand there is so shallow that burying just isn’t an option. There are also archaeological sites we have to be sensitive to….”

“One of the options is to tow it offshore, but that will take some coordination and logistics,” Havel said.

Asked if dynamite was one of the possibilities being considered, Havel burst out laughing, then answered, “No.” (RG)

Update: The whale has been buried on the beach at Devil’s Elbow State Park:

Old whale removal technique: Stuff full of dynamite, blow to smithereens.

New whale removal technique: Dig whale-sized hole. Roll whale down beach. Push whale into hole.

The modern-day approach to cetacean disposal proved far less messy than the former on Monday afternoon, as state parks officials and a crew from Florence-based Leisure Excavating bulldozed a 55-foot fin whale into a crater at Devil­’s Elbow State Park. (RG)

View a great video of the burial, courtesy of the Register-Guard.

External links:

• Washed up fin whale forces beach closure - Register-Guard
• Whale washed up near Heceta Head awaits burial - The Oregonian
• What not to do with a dead whale - The Oregonian
• State will attempt whale burial at Oregon Coast beach - MSNBC/KGW
• How do you get a whale carcass off a beach? - KVAL
• Dead whale buried at the beach (video) - KVAL
• End to sad tale of whale (video) - Register-Guard
• Beached Whale Buried (includes video) - KEZI
• Crews cut up, bury whale (video) - KVAL

Update: Biologists now believe that the 5040-foot whale that died along the Oregon Coast was, in fact, an endangered fin whale, not a Sei whale as originally reported. They also predict that the whale appeared undernourished and was probably chronically ill. A video report (in which it is still described as a Sei whale) is available. A more recent video is also available.

Parallels to Oregon’s infamous exploding whale are already being made, of course. However, state officials have indicated they have no intention of blowing up the carcass.

External links:

• Struggling whale likely same one found dead - KVAL
• Struggling whale washed up dead near Florence - The Oregonian
• Marine biologists search for clues in beached whale’s death (video #1, video #2) - KATU
• Beach closed after dead whale washes up - Register-Guard
• Great whale beaches at Heceta Head - The Oregonian
• Dead Whale Leads to Closure of Oregon Beaches - Salem-News.com
• Dead Whale Forces Beach Closure - KEZI
• Dead whale washes up on Oregon Coast, prompts beach closure (slideshow) - KGW
• Dead Whale Shuts Down Central Oregon Coast Beach - BeachConnection.net
• Beached whale’s tale captivates Oregon Coast - KVAL

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story….

Update: Watch video from KVAL in Eugene, OR.

Updates:

• As of Saturday morning, the whale’s whereabouts are unknown.
• Read the Coast Guard news release regarding the whale.
• Watch Coast Guard video of the whale taken Friday, 6-March-2009.

See “Fin whale perishes on Oregon Coast” for additional updates on this story.

External links:

• Officials Fear Whale Near Florence Tried to Reach the Beach - Salem-News.com
• Would-Be Beached Whale Appears to Be OK - KTVL
• Coast Guard whale watching - Register-Guard
• Whale appears to be in a life or death struggle, it’ll be touch and go - KVAL
• Whale update : “Blood was coming up with the animal’s body” - KVAL
• Coast Guard keeping tabs on injured whale - Register-Guard
• Coast Guard News Release (includes link to video) - U.S. Coast Guard
• Troubled whale disappears from coast but is it still alive? - KVAL

The documentary is of particular interest since the producers asked for permission to use screenshots of this website’s page documenting the event.

The show is schedule to air as part of NatGeo’s “Wild” series at the following times:

• December 13, 2008, at 8pm
• December 15, 2008, at 8am

See the the program’s page on the NatGeo TV website for more information.

Update: Monsters and Critics also a brief mention of the program.

It is perhaps because the events of this day in 1970 stand in such dramatic contrast to the many truly serious events and changes currently taking place in the world — among them, global warming, ongoing wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, an international economic crisis, the lasting effects of the Bush presidency, and the hope for enduring change under an Obama presidency — that I was, ironically, compelled to lightheartedly celebrate this year’s Exploding Whale anniversary.

So, after you observe the requisite moment of silence for our beloved cetacean detonation, you need to the following:

1. Go watch the original video. (Yeah, I know you’ve seen it before. Go watch it again — it’s a CLASSIC, remember?!?)
2. Now, do something that really matters: go take a look around this interesting site: The World’s Biggest Problems created by The Arlington Institute.

As usual, I’ll update this post with any media coverage of the anniversary….

• The infamous tale of an exploding whale - KATU (same story repeated on KVAL and KOMO)

Happy Exploding Whale Day!

The map pinpoints the location of each exploding whale incident and features pop-up information boxes (see sample below) typically containing a brief description of the incident, a photo, and a link to the page or entry on this site with additional information.

You can always find a link to the map in the sidebar on our main page. Leave us a comment and let us know what you think about the new Exploding Whale Locator Map.

• Exploding Whale Locator (on theexplodingwhale.com)
• Exploding Whale Locator (on maps.google.com)

Peter O’Neill, a writer for the Timaru Herald which is located in the South Canterbury region of New Zealand, recently wrote an article titled, “I just don’t get the great fascination with whales.” The article basically contains a lot of aimless ramblings about whales. Here are a few excerpts so you know what I mean:

We obviously like whales. And when I say “we”, I mean everyone except the Japanese and me.

I don’t think [whales] are particularly pretty or even graceful. I mean, meerkats are cute, monkeys are clever, cheetahs are classy and albatross are graceful, but whales are … blobs.

Maybe the [stranded] orca had sclerosis of the liver. Maybe it was a promiscuous whale with a sexually transmitted disease and had just been kicked out of its pod.

With such inane commentary, O’Neill obviously needed a strong closer. Enter the Exploding Whale:

The other story comes from Florence, Lane County, Oregon, the United States of America. A whale beached itself there and died, and the locals were pondering how to dispose of it in the nicest possible manner.

So they decided to blow it up.

With dynamite.

With 20 cases of dynamite.

He goes on to explain the entire incident and then offers a tongue-in-cheek explanation for why you would never want to watch the video yourself:

This, of course, is not in the least bit funny, so you will not be interested to know it can be viewed by going to www.youtube.com and typing in “Exploding whale”.

In fact, if you did go off and watch it, there would be something wrong with you, wouldn’t there?

And that’s how O’Neill’s article ends. Personally, I failed to see any real point to it other than to fill blank space in the Timaru Herald. But I guess it stands as yet another example of the enduring nature of the Exploding Whale.

• I just don’t get the great fascination with whales - The Timaru Herald

After the whale continued thrashing for several minutes, a wildlife officer began firing several shots into its head, as can be seen in the photo above. After a total of 15 minutes, a second charge was detonated, finally killing the suffering creature.

This was really the worst possible outcome of the decision to euthanize this stranded whale. Really, once you’ve made that decision, can there be such a thing as using too many explosives? I mean, if your plan is to “put it out of its misery,” then why not just plan to blow it to kingdom come? If you think X pounds of explosives is enough, why not just use 5X for good measure?

And if the explosives didn’t kill it, why would they then think that shooting it full of bullets for 15 minutes was going to finish the job?

The thought processes that lead to this outcome are completely lost on me….

That being said, I truly believe that the wildlife officials involved were trying to act with mercy. Hopefully, the errors made will be exposed so a similar tragedy can be avoided in the future.

• Humpback shot after explosives failed - The West Australian
• Stranded Jurien Bay humpback put down - PerthNow

Update 1-OCT-2008: The official government media release of the operation makes no mention of the complications:

Department of Environment and Conservation (DEC) marine wildlife officers this afternoon oversaw an operation to euthanase the animal using a technique approved by the Department’s Animal Ethics Committee. The approved technique involved using charges to cause an implosion above the brain.

• Stranded whale put down - Western Australia Dept. of Environment and Conservation

Explosives have been used to put down a dying 15 tonne humpback whale stranded in shallow waters at Jurien Bay. The whale thrashed its tail for at least five minutes after the blast, which was authorised by the Department of Environment….

Department of Environment spokesman Nigel Higgs confirmed the whale’s death just after 5pm. “We have just euthanised the whale and we will propose to bury it on site,” Mr. Higgs said. The whale was euthanised by a technique which caused an implosion into its brain.

“It went as well as it can be expected, it is a big animal,” Mr Higgs said.

A 1km exclusion zone was enforced around the whale while the procedure took place.

Not surprisingly, the act was condemned by a former whale rescuer and animal activist:

The veteran animal campaigner said the 10m whale should be towed back out to sea for a chance of survival.

“I have always believed in rescuing and giving them a chance of survival,” he said. “I’ve seen whales in the past that vets thought were on their last legs and wouldn’t survive. Yet we have got them out and they’ve been leading the whales out there.”

The 10m juvenile humpback had been stranded in shallow waters at Jurien Bay for almost a week and was suffering from severe skin lesions and sunburn. Wildlife officers tested the whale’s reflexes earlier today and said it reacted in a way a whale normally would not.

The question rages on. Should whales in this type of situation be given every chance at survival even if it means further injuring the animal or causing even greater suffering as it is slowly eaten and killed by predators? Should we act with compassion and mercy to limit their suffering by expediting their death? Or should we intercede at all?

• Dying whale put down by explosives - The West Australian
• Stranded Jurien Bay humpback put down - PerthNow
• Beached humpback whale euthanased - Melbourne Herald Sun