Little fun (OK, not fun at all) fact about why only the head appears to be mangled before washing up: humpback juveniles are primarily hunted for their tongues. A pod of orcas will aim to separate the juvenile from its mother and then proceed to drown it. Once dead, they go for the tongue and the tongue alone. The rest of the whale is either consumed by similar predators, or more often than not, sinks to the bottom of the ocean in what is known as a 'whale fall' where it becomes a banquet for bottom dwelling creatures. Obviously this poor guy washed up before either could occur
ahwhawatchout on August 31st, 2021 at 18:55 UTC »
That stinks
vetkoekparty on August 31st, 2021 at 19:20 UTC »
I should also add that this is a young Humpback whale along the East Coast of South Africa.
Edit:
I stay in rural South Africa and we dont have the infrastructure to tow it away.
No, we wont be blowing it up. Tnt is illegal.
WellThatsPrompting on August 31st, 2021 at 23:14 UTC »
Little fun (OK, not fun at all) fact about why only the head appears to be mangled before washing up: humpback juveniles are primarily hunted for their tongues. A pod of orcas will aim to separate the juvenile from its mother and then proceed to drown it. Once dead, they go for the tongue and the tongue alone. The rest of the whale is either consumed by similar predators, or more often than not, sinks to the bottom of the ocean in what is known as a 'whale fall' where it becomes a banquet for bottom dwelling creatures. Obviously this poor guy washed up before either could occur