19m whale carcass stranded could explode

Ireland Experts abandoned a fin whale autopsy after hearing rumbling sounds coming from its gut, revealing the risk of an explosion if the animal were cut open.

The carcass of a 19-meter-long fin whale in Kerry on July 9. Photo: IWDG — The carcass of a 19-meter-long fin whale in Kerry on July 9. Photo: *IWDG*

The 19-meter-long fin whale ( Balaenoptera physalus ) washed up on Baile Uí Chuill Strand in County Kerry, Ireland on July 9. The cause of death is unknown, but it is likely that the giant whale had been dead for about three weeks before washing ashore, based on the level of decomposition.

A team from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group (IWDG) arrived on the scene to collect samples for autopsy, but were forced to stop over fears the carcass might explode. "I took blubber, baleen and skin," said Stephanie Levesque, an officer with IWDG. "I was about to take muscle samples when I heard a noise, like it was going to explode in front of me if I went any further."

When whales die, their intestines fill with methane gas, causing the carcass to swell up like a balloon, float on the ocean surface, and wash ashore. At high enough concentrations, when mixed with oxygen in the air, methane can cause a whale to explode spontaneously if pressure increases or during an autopsy, although this is rare.

In 2013, a marine biologist in the Faroe Islands had a lucky escape after a sperm whale ( Physeter macrocephalus ) washed ashore and exploded while the scientist was dissecting it. In 2019, a whale exploded on the surface of the ocean off the coast of California.

Sometimes, wildlife officials deliberately detonate gas-filled carcasses to prevent them from slowly decomposing and emitting a foul odor. The most famous example of this was in 1970, when a 45-foot sperm whale carcass stranded in Florence, Oregon, was blown to pieces with half a ton of explosives.

Normally, about one or two whales wash up in Ireland each year. There are about 100,000 fin whales worldwide , but the species remains vulnerable to pressures such as climate change, plastic pollution and overharvesting of krill, its favorite food, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). In January 2022, nearly 1,000 fin whales were filmed feeding on giant krill in Antarctica.

An Khang (According to Live Science )

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