A Whale of a Story

A beached Sperm whale, that died, was being moved to a research facility when it exploded.

Passers-by and cars were soaked in blood and body parts were sprayed over a road after the bursting of the whale, which was being carried on a trailer.

The whale had died earlier on a beach and had been collected so its remains could be used for educational purposes.

A marine biologist blamed the explosion on pressure from gases building up in the mammal as it began to decompose.

The whale attracted a lot of onlookers both before and after it exploded.

The stench was so bad that the shop owners, in the area, had to wear masks as the tried to clean up the mess. Apparently, there was enough of the whale intact to deliver to the research facility where they determined that the explosion was due to natural decomposing. It also turned out to be the biggest whale they have seen in Taiwan ever.

Professor Wang said initial observation showed the whale to be an older bull and that its weight of 50 tonnes and 17 metre-length made it the largest whale ever recorded in Taiwan.

Reports say because of the whale’s size, it took 13 hours, three large lifting cranes and 50 workers to get the whale loaded on the trailer truck for its final trip.