How do you get rid of a dead whale?

FOR those who could stand the smell, and stifle their gags, it was something to behold - but there’s a sad side to the sight of a 40-foot whale lying dead on a beach.

It might be a sight to hold, but how do you get rid of a giant sea creature that’s washed up on the beach? Picture: Peregian Beach Village Facebook

FOR those who could stand the smell, and stifle their gags, it was something to behold - the sad but riveting sight of a 40-foot whale lying dead on its side on a Southern California beach.

This week, dozens of gawkers stood upwind of the carcass, examining it, marvelling at it, and of course taking selfies with it.

Its enormous tongue was so swollen that it bulged out of its mouth like a giant black balloon. Seaweed still dangled from its mouth, and only a few patches of grey-black skin were left on the body, which was a light beige colour from the fat underneath.

A woman and a young boy cover part of their noses as they walk past the massive carcass of a whale at a popular California surfing spot in San Clemente, California. Picture: Lenny Ignelzi

A big problem looms with the big beast, however. In fact, it’s a problem felt across the world, and in particular, Australia, when a whale washes ashore. Just how do you get rid of such a massive carcass?

In California, officials must decide whether to tow the load of up to 30 tonnes out to sea or cut it into pieces and load them on trucks, and neither option is easy.

And we all remember the potential dangers of cutting into a whale...

“I don’t think the carcass could have landed on a worse stretch of beach,” said Rich Haydon, the superintendent who oversees the beach, citing its limited access for vehicles and popularity. Burial on the beach isn’t feasible because the stretch is mostly cobblestones, Haydon said.

But California’s methods differ to those from Australia’s.

The number of whales washing ashore along West Australia’s 13,000km stretch of coast has dwindled in recent years; in 2009 46 whales washed along the coastline, and of those 46, 13 were alive.

In comparison, last year only saw five whales wash ashore.

“They can stay alive for weeks on end, and slowly cook and die a horrible death,” Doug Coughran, senior wildlife officer for Western Australia’s Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPAW), told news.com.au.

“It presents massive management issues as to how do you deal humanely with an animal that big? Everything about whales is huge, it’s a massive challenge.”

The DPAW ended up refining their euthanasia methods to two forms - if they’re small enough, shoot them, but if they’re too big, you’ve got to blow them up. Literally.

“Explosives are better for bigger animals,” Mr Coughran said.

“You need to release a massive amount of energy that’s focused to deliver the instant result.

“It’s effective, it’s been endorsed by the whaling commission, and it’s a choice that’s available if people want to go down that road.”

He explained the method involves a “formed charge that’s put strategically in the appropriate location to deliver instant energy that will end the life of a whale”.

The process involves strapping explosives above the whales brain, which sits at the rear of its blowhole.

“You either allow them to die a natural process where they can remain alive for so long,” Mr Coughran said.

“The options to kill aren’t great, it’s a choice that we know works and delivers the quickest type of death.”

Western Australia is the only state in the country to employ such a method.

“The population we deal with on the west coast is different to the east coast, the recovery on the west coast has been a success story, it’s ahead of population globally.

“It’s different on the east coast.”

The problem with injecting an animal of such size with a massive dose of deadly fluids, Doug says, is that it takes a lot longer for the animal to die and uses “massively expensive and dangerous drugs”.

“Other states can decide to use it, but that’s their call.

“A lot of vets would like to use chemicals because it’s neat and tidy and looks fine, but is it quick? Maybe not.

“This technique is most likely to provide the best result, there’s no quicker method than this one to deliver an instant result.”

But once the animal is dead, how do you actually move a 30,000kg beast?

“It depends on the location, if you can get access to it with machinery it can sometimes be taken down in smaller components and trucked away,” said Mr Coughran.

“If you can’t, you have to pull it off the beach and remove via ocean.”

- Additional reporting by AP’s Gillian Flaccus and Christopher Weber

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