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Taiwan: Sperm whale explodes in Tainan City ( What a mess )
Taiwan News via Drudge ^ | 2004-01-27 | Jason Pan

Posted on 01/27/2004 6:59:48 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach

Sperm whale explodes in Tainan City
Blood and guts of 17-meter long 50-ton mammal splatter sidewalks, automobiles parked nearby
2004-01-27 / Taiwan News, Contributing Writer / By Jason Pan

A dead sperm whale being transported through Tainan City on its way to a research station suddenly exploded yesterday, splattering cars and shops with blood and guts.

Certified by authorities as the largest beached whale on record in Taiwan, the 17-meter 50-ton carcass was being transported by a flat-bed trailer-truck to a special research location after National Cheng Kung University officials and security guards refused to allow the whale on campus.

The whale was to be preserved and an autopsy performed at the "Shi-Tsao Natural Preserve" in Tainan County by a team of marine biologists and taxidermists.

National Cheng Kung University marine biologist, professor Wang Chien-ping, was on the scene and said he had he instructed the truck driver to move the carcass so the whale could be used for educational purposes and an autopsy could be done.

The beached whale was found on along a stretch of coast in Yunlin County on Saturday.

"The animal was close to death when someone found it beached on shore on Saturday... Because of the natural decomposing process, a lot of gases accumulated, and when the pressure buildup was too great, the whale's belly just exploded and spilled blood and the innards on the street," Wang said.

Despite the explosion, enough of the whale remained intact that it will still be transported to the 'Shi-Tsao Natural Preserve' for a scientific examination, Wang added.

Local news reports showed a number of people who had gathered to take photographs of the whale before it exploded in Tainan City, as well as residents and shop owners following the explosion. Many were wearing gauze-masks and trying to clean up the spilled blood and the entrails with brushes and brooms.

"What a stinking mess! This blood and other stuff that blew out on the road is disgusting, and the smell is really awful," said one resident.

The news also showed one section of the street along with several parked automobiles and pedestrian walkways covered in red with copious amounts of splattered whale blood.

Lying on the trailer-truck was the dead whale - underbelly exposed with a large elongated tear where the biological gaseous blowout took place. Besides the shocking red bloody mess, large piles of whale intestines and guts were strewn along the road, leaving an unpleasant and ghastly scene for startled residents.

According to Wang, an initial assessment suggested the animal looked like an older bull whale. He said the carcass weighed over 50 metric tons and measured 17 meters, making it the largest whale ever recorded in Taiwan. He told the press that previous record was an 11-meter sperm whale which was found beached along a Tainan County coast 8 years ago.

Local media reported the sperm whale was still alive when it was found lying on the seashore in Yunlin County by a fisherman on Saturday morning. The man informed the coast guard and the police for help. When the authorities and conservation groups arrived to attempt a rescue during the afternoon, they found the animal had died.

After the news had spread about the giant beached whale, a mini-circus festival atmosphere prevailed on the site. Throughout the day on Sunday, a large crowd of more than 600 local Yunlin residents and curiosity seekers, along with vendors selling snack food and hot drinks, braved the cold temperature and chilly wind to watch workmen try to haul away the dead marine leviathan.

According to local news reports, the animal's record size proved a tough challenge for the work crews, and it took more than 13 hours, 3 large lifting cranes, and 50 workers to get the beached sperm whale loaded onto the flat-bed trailer-truck to be taken on its final trek.



TOPICS: Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ick; naturalevents; taiwan; whaleblowout; whaleboom
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To: IncPen; always paddle your own canoe
Probably someone got their panties in a wad about "sperm" being in the title.

;-`)

81 posted on 01/27/2004 10:13:17 PM PST by CARDINALRULES (18 years since Challenger....damn I'm getting old)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Was this whale one of Arafat's Islamokazi Spermless Whales?
82 posted on 01/27/2004 10:14:04 PM PST by Grampa Dave (GW is driving every rat in America into a deeper insanity, 24/7/365!)
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.........
83 posted on 01/27/2004 10:54:08 PM PST by Main Street (Stuck in traffic.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach

It was fireworks to celebrate "Whale Rider" star Keisha Castle-Hughes's Oscar nomination.

84 posted on 01/27/2004 11:09:33 PM PST by baseballfanjm
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To: baseballfanjm
LOL! I never heard of that!
85 posted on 01/27/2004 11:23:00 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: Grampa Dave
LOL!

See #83 for a picture!
86 posted on 01/27/2004 11:24:31 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Thanks! Now, I will have nightmares all night! This one below is just for you!


87 posted on 01/27/2004 11:31:31 PM PST by Grampa Dave (GW is driving every rat in America into a deeper insanity, 24/7/365!)
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To: baseballfanjm
LOL... that was a pretty good movie
88 posted on 01/27/2004 11:33:57 PM PST by cyborg
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To: Grampa Dave
Looks like he is keeping late nights!
89 posted on 01/27/2004 11:43:54 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach (The terrorists and their supporters declared war on the United States - and war is what they got!!!!)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
It's a good film from New Zealand, actually. It did indeed get the aforementioned Oscar nomination.
90 posted on 01/27/2004 11:58:07 PM PST by baseballfanjm
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To: Fitzcarraldo
lol...great pic - rush hour at the super buffet.
91 posted on 01/28/2004 1:20:46 AM PST by Ophiucus
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
a thread about an exploding sperm whale...and no mention of Free Willy?

you guys are slipping 8-)

92 posted on 01/28/2004 1:39:51 AM PST by mitch5501 (by the grace of God,I am what I am)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Authorities expressed concern that the sperm whale's explosion was premature.
93 posted on 01/28/2004 2:57:09 AM PST by RoarkMan (no tag line entered)
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To: Main Street
ROTF
94 posted on 01/28/2004 5:53:17 AM PST by HangFire (Keep it simple and things won't get complicated.)
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To: Professional Engineer
There was another thread, but it got pulled.
8-0
95 posted on 01/28/2004 7:11:13 AM PST by Darksheare (Responsible for killing more threads than anyone else. Considered armed & weird. Use caution.)
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Sperm whale explodes in Tainan City

I suppose this whale converted to Islam...

96 posted on 01/28/2004 7:44:25 AM PST by Onelifetogive
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To: Ernest_at_the_Beach
Just one wafer thin mint!
97 posted on 01/28/2004 8:05:50 AM PST by NotQuiteCricket (~maybe I'm bitter, and maybe I'm not....)
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To: Grampa Dave
Ah, the true face of John F'n Kerry!
98 posted on 01/29/2004 12:25:59 PM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks (Death is certain; little chance of success; what are we waiting for???)
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To: Tolerance Sucks Rocks
What is the true face of Lurch F***ing Kerry?

After the 666 tatoo removal, Botox injections in the forehead, injections of his butt fat into his jowls, some of the Clintoon Hair dye, and a gallon of Get the Red Out of Yo Eyes, we have the new 2004 Lurch F***ing Kerry!


99 posted on 01/29/2004 12:40:14 PM PST by Grampa Dave (GW is driving every rat in America into a deeper insanity, 24/7/365!)
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To: Blood of Tyrants
Tastes like chicken...
100 posted on 01/29/2004 12:44:34 PM PST by Pharmboy (History's greatest agent for freedom: The US Armed Forces)
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