I think we need a whale thread, too (beach, company)

[Rance]

I dug an oosik out of a dead walrus once. It stunk to high heaven. I can't imagine trying to cut baleen out of a dead whale. You'd need scuba gear just to breathe!

[starlite9]

Originally Posted by arctichomesteader

Hmm. Poor whale. It's a pity beached whales can't be used. Instead they either rot, get buried, or so forth. Something that's always annoyed me. Commercial whaling caused some problems, true, but why not allow the beached whales to be put to use...enough of that rant though!

It won't go to waste. Bears will eat it as well as all other forms of wildlife. In the ocean the same thing happens, it is a smorgisboard in nature.

[warptman]

You can always blow it up!


YouTube - The Infamous Exploding Whale

[GrammasCabin]

WHALES IN THE DARK

Last December I stopped by my friend Kitty's house for a little cribbage and blueberry wine. Her cabin sits high right on the edge of a little deep-water hole. A favorite commercial halibut long-line, salmon netting and shrimp set spot while mine has a flat beach that goes all the way to Japan at low tide. As I was getting ready to leave Kitty walked outside to shine the flashlight up the pathway to the road. As we were talking on the deck the LOUDEST humpback blew RIGHT THERE! It liked-ta knocked us over. No way I was leaving now! We went back inside, turned out all the lights and sat on the narrow deck facing the water. For fifteen minutes the whale blew directly below us followed by a smaller, infant sounding blow. They were so close we could feel the mist and smell the stink. It was dark and overcast so we could see nothing but the blow was so loud we could feel vibrations. Then silence.
The next morning Kitty called to say that in the night she bolted upright to the loudest, most desperate sound she'd ever heard a living thing make. A sound she couldn't even describe but definitely distress. This happend several times over a long time then it became more and more distant. She saw nothing during the day but heard this sound for the next two nights, then nothing.
Last month our town paper printed an article about a Humpback whale off the coast of Maui with the bouy and line from a shrimp set in Wrangell wrapped around its fin and trailing behind. Right where a local fisherman had lost his gear in December. We were heartbroken to see this because we are now convinced that whale was in distress like our gut told us at the time. There was probably nothing could have been done but now I wish we'd tried. Thankfully divers were able to free her in Maui but I wonder where is her baby?

[GrammasCabin]

I meant to put this in there. I wish there was a way to curtail the commercial fishing when these guys are around. I'm not to happy that the only reaction was "Oh goody, I've got a souviner". Is it just me?

[blueflames50]

sad story...glad the whale made it but like you said...wonder what happened to the little one.

[GrammasCabin]

On a happier note, my favorite fishing hole was a little crowded last summer. The company was spectacular tho.

[ASpilot2be]

Early last summer when the whales were in the Upper Lynn Canal, it was amazing to watch them breach. It also helped that we had a whale call installed on the boat

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by starlite9

It won't go to waste. Bears will eat it as well as all other forms of wildlife. In the ocean the same thing happens, it is a smorgisboard in nature.

I know, true, but I see dead beached whale + whale oil lamp and go, hmm...

Grammascabin: nice pictures! They're impressive creatures...

[Alex2009]

great story grammascabin and nice pictures!
interesting watch warpt...