A dead humpback whale was brought ashore onto Hout Bay beach this weekend. This is very unfortunate, but is also just one of those things that happens. You don’t need to blame climate change or toxic oceans here: animals sometimes die, and animals sometimes die in the sea close to a shoreline. And if they are a 14m, 35 tonne humpback whale, you’re possibly more likely to notice them than if they were a small crab. Sadly, they can also be a bit of a hazard. Aside from the smell and the health risks, whale carcasses on the shoreline can also attract sharks, and so removal of the carcass is something that needs to happen timeously.
Usually, the whales which are washed up around the Cape Town coastline are taken – by truck – to the landfill site at Vissershoek. This is a fairly unusual thing, but we’re probably looking at a few every year, so it’s hardly unheard of.
This one seems to have caused a bit of stir though. Maybe because it was moved on a weekend and a nice day when people were out and about.
And just look who commented! With that emoji.
It’s always sad when a family member passes on. Sorry for your loss.
But it was the Reddit post referenced in the link above that really got me laughing.
The original question here:
Was answered in typical Reddit form by a super helpful local user:
“Probably dead”? Amazing.
You think?
Not just popping out of the water and onto a low loader for a Township Tour of Imizamo Yethu and a drink or two in the Constantia Valley before being dropped back into the Atlantic, then?
Dead, you say?
Yes, I think you might be right.
Probably.