Dead Whale

A large dead whale caught my attention as I drove up the Great Northern Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland in July, 2004. I took a few photos of this large animal that had washed up on the shore near Flowers Cove.

This whale was identified as a humpback whale by a local sea mammal specialist. Previously, I had not seen a humpback other than one surfacing in the ocean, so I was surprised at the ridges near the front of its body. This whale had not been dead too long because there was no smell and the body hadn't decayed much. In fact, there were no scavengers nearby at the time either. I have no idea why it died ...

Over the years I have photographed three dead whales - the humpback shown in today's photos, a large sperm whale near Seal Cove, Conception Bay and a small pilot whale (a few years later) in the same area. I photographed the others with slide film so I can not share them with you.