Whale Tale | Story Post | Pic Heavy

[Austin Greene]

I've been sick for the past week, but I needed to get out and take some photos so I headed to Mori Point near Pacifica, CA. About a week prior, a large female humpback had washed up, believed to have been killed via boatstrike. A necropsy determined that she did indeed have 5 fractured vertebrae.

I wanted to see her, and document how people were reacting to her.

1. Some people used it as a teaching experience

2. Some people only seemed concerned with taking "cool" selfies from atop her body

3. Some folks just wanted a taste.

4. Others stood in awe of her size.

5. And others simply passed right by...

 

[funwitha7d]

that's pretty cool to see, esp the last shot, interesting story

 

[Derrel]

These are awesome photos! WOW! WHAT A GREAT story! THe first image, and the time exposure, and the B&W are wonderful pictures!

This whale wash-up reminded me of a funny, but actual event that lives on in Pacific Northwest history...a large whale washed up on the beaches of Florence, Oregon on the south part of the central coast. The state highway division used 20 cases of dynamite (a half ton of dynamite!) in an effort to simply "get rid of" the eight-ton dead gray whale. Check out the damaged car at the end!

 

[Designer]

Tail as in; the behind of it, OR

Tale as in the story of it?

What s Worse Muffin Top or Whale Tail POPSUGAR Love Sex

 

[runnah]

Anyone else craving sushi?

 

[Gary A.]

Tail as in; the behind of it, OR

Tale as in the story of it?

What s Worse Muffin Top or Whale Tail POPSUGAR Love Sex

Whales don't have a "Tail as in; the behind of it". Whales have flukes, (as in the last thing behind the front). So it must be a "tale as in the story of it". So the OP used the appropriate word in the title.

I really like the last photo, a lot of meaning can be gleaned from that image.

Down here the authorities don't let large creatures rot on the beach ... usually they dig a hole and let it rot under the sad or drag it out to sea and let it rot in the ocean.

The selfie crowd shows a lot of self centeredness and disrespect for the rest of the world. What species of whale? By the size I'd guess a baleen, California Gray or Humpback maybe? ... lack of flies/insects and odor is due to the coldness of the site?

 

[Austin Greene]

Tail as in; the behind of it, OR

Tale as in the story of it?

What s Worse Muffin Top or Whale Tail POPSUGAR Love Sex

Whales don't have a "Tail as in; the behind of it". Whales have flukes, (as in the last thing behind the front). So it must be a "tales as in the story of it". So the OP used the appropriate word in the title.

I really like the last photo, a lot of meaning can be gleaned from that image.

Down here the authorities don't let large creatures rot on the beach ... usually they dig a hole and let it rot under the sad or drag it out to sea and let it rot in the ocean.

The selfie crowd shows a lot of self centeredness and disrespect for the rest of the world. What species of whale? By the size I'd guess a baleen, California Gray or Humpback maybe? ... lack of flies/insects and odor is due to the coldness of the site?

Yep, tale as in tale, not tail.

I believe they chose to let it stay simply because of the public awareness behind it. A sperm whale which died of natural causes also washed up about three weeks prior, its body is still on the beach, albeit almost unrecognizable. There are several large whale bones across the entire beach from prior bodies. It's just a beach that catches a lot of whale bodies due to the currents. Burying them all wouldn't make financial sense.

The smell was incredibly strong. I plugged my nose with rolled up tissue, and still smelled it. Some folks couldn't get too close or they'd start vomiting. I'd guess a lack of insects mainly due to the cooler temperatures. I didn't touch the carcass, but my clothes smelled like whale for two wash cycles. She was a fully grown female humpback, per the original post. Probably on her way migrating north with her offspring, like the rest of the humpbacks this time of year.

 

[Gary A.]

Opps ... missed the reference to Humpback ... Too occupied staring at the image.

 

[Derrel]

Gary, the humpback whale is also known as the Mississippi whale...

"Em-eye-crooked letter, crooked letter,eye,crooked letter, crooked letter,eye,humpback, humpback, eye."

[not really]

 

[Gary A.]

And people make fun of a public education.