"Kitostrofa" in Taiwan - a sea giant exploded on the street

Each dead whale is a big loss for the biosphere. Therefore, scientists are trying to carefully investigate all known cases in order to understand why the world has lost another giant. For this, an autopsy of a marine mammal and a variety of different examinations and analyzes are performed. This work is necessary, but very unpleasant. And it is also dangerous, because dead whales sometimes explode.

A terrible incident occurred in Taiwan in 2004. Then, on one of the beaches, the ocean threw a huge dead sperm whale. The dimensions of the giant were amazing, and the weight reached 50 tons. This is a lot, since the largest males of this species rarely cross the 40-ton mark.

Scientists decided to take the dead animal for research and prepared well for the difficult task. Three cranes, bulldozers and a powerful truck with a platform were driven to the cetacean. 50 workers helped the technique. For the transportation of the sperm whale, they chose early morning, when there are few people on the street and almost no transport. The work was led by an oceanologist - Professor Wang, who had already worked with the carcasses of dead cetaceans more than once.

The whale was successfully loaded onto the platform of a truck and the procession, accompanied by police, began to cross the city along one of the central streets.

But the sperm whale stayed on the shore for a long time, and decomposition processes began in its carcass. As a result, a significant amount of gases accumulated inside, which suddenly burst out.

The morning sleep of the townspeople was interrupted by a deafening explosion. Many began to panic, as they thought that a powerful bomb had exploded. But it was the sperm whale that exploded, turning part of the street into a branch of a fetid hell.

The viscera and liquid from the burst carcass scattered around the area, spattering blood and throwing pieces of flesh on the roadway, sidewalk, parked cars and even the walls of houses.

Professor Wang and his colleagues had to call for help from public utilities to solve the problem. But even by joint efforts, it was completely possible to eliminate the consequences of the "kitostrof" only by the second half of the day.

Everything that was left of the sperm whale was carefully collected and delivered to the laboratory building of the local university. After the study was completed, Dr. Wong said that the animal died due to the fault of a person. The huge wound on his side was not the result of a collision with the reefs. A 50-ton animal was cut by the propeller of a large ship.

Now some parts of this sperm whale are exhibited in one of the Taiwanese zoological museums. Next to the bones of the giant is a stand with a description of the emergency and photographs.