Sun 16 June 2019:
A couple is housing a 40-foot dead gray whale on their waterfront property as a sort of final resting place for the mammal. Numerous of gray whale carcasses have washed up this year that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries has run out of places to take them. Now they’re asking waterfront landowners to volunteer their properties for the decomposition of gray whales up to 40 feet long. Mario Rivera and Stefanie Worwag thought it would be interesting to see the whale decompose and be recycled back into the marine ecosystem, according to a NOAA news release.
“That’s the primary reason we did it,” Rivera said in a news release. “How many opportunities do you get to watch something like this happen right out in front of you?” Officials will tow the carcass to a volunteer’s location where the whale is then secured on the beach and a necropsy is performed. It takes a few weeks to months for the carcass to decompose, according to NOAA. This year alone, 30 gray whales have been stranded in Washington state – the most in 20 years.
Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!
