Whale flatulence stuns scientists

News.Com ^ | August 14, 2003 | Simon Benson

[joesnuffy]

Whale flatulence stuns scientists

By Simon Benson August 14, 2003

IT'S one of the unfortunate consequences of being a mammal - flatulence.

And, more unfortunately for a group of whale researchers, nature took its course right under their noses - literally.

The researchers claim this is the first photograph of a minke whale letting one go in the icy waters of Antarctica.
It was taken from the bow of a research vessel.

"We got away from the bow of the ship very quickly ... it does stink," said Nick Gales, a research scientist from the Australian Antarctic Division.

However, the episode did not detract from their mission, which was to collect DNA from whale dung and attach satellite tracking devices in the first research of its kind to track where the creatures go and what and how much they eat.

Already some incredible stories about whales are emerging.

One pigmy blue whale wearing a satellite tracking tag was found to be returning to a former population off southern Australia which was thought to have been hunted to extinction by Russian whalers.

"Every piece of this research is surprising," said Dr Gales.

"Some is confirming what we thought. We know a lot about humpbacks, but we don't know anything about where they are going.

"Internationally there is a big push ... saying there are now too many whales eating too many fish and so we have to kill them.

"It's important that we determine what impact whales actually have on a fishery such as krill ... and how that fishery interacts with the whale."

The Daily Telegraph

[bedolido]

Hoax picture perhaps?

Whale hunters of WW2

[hemogoblin]

I will never hear those recordings of "whale music" the same way again.

[boris]

"Ring of Bright Water" it ain't.

[BraveMan]

Dr. Michael Levitt, a Minneapolis gastroenterologist who is probably the world's leading expert on flatulence, tells of a somewhat gassy patient who was having a rectal polyp cauterized one day and unexpectedly exploded on the operating table.

An electric spark caused the hydrogen in the patient's bowels to detonate, blasting the surgeon backwards against the wall and slamming the patient's head into the table. The explosion also ripped a six-inch hole in the patient's large intestine. Luckily, they were able to sew him up OK and the poor guy recovered.

[ST.LOUIE1]

Didn't really need this so early in the morning, Cal. LOL

[SoothingDave]

However, the episode did not detract from their mission, which was to collect DNA from whale dung and attach satellite tracking devices in the first research of its kind to track where the creatures go and what and how much they eat.

They're tracking dung?

SD

[Big Mack]

You should make this post availialbe to the government after they pay you a huge grant for the study.

[Calpernia]

Just had to tease ;)

[RichardW]

Something else to worry about!

[da_toolman]

Big sh*t this way!

[Johnbalaya]

lol!

[tophat9000]

Pull my fluke

[xm177e2]

The military should look into this. These sorts of gaseous releases could be used as a type of reverse depth charge for submarines to use against ships...

[danmar]

Wow!!! This thread definitely qualifies as breaking news.

...er, breaking winds perhaps?

[danmar]

Some foods that cause really smelly farts include: beans, cabbage, cheese, soda, and eggs.

No kiddin', did you ever loose one after you ate eggsalad with corn, washed down with beer? OMG the stinking wall paper was coming off, not to mention my wife used 3 cans of Lysol to sanitize the house!

[FlyVet]

Oh geez, not this $**+ again. What would Freerepublic be, without a monthly stinky fart post. Ya'll got a rotten sense of humor. I'd never talk about farts. Lighting them, maybe, but never directly.

[lepton]

Other popular names for farts or farting include: [...] wet ones.

Ummm. I think that's a different but related phenomenon.

[Gamecock]

***it does stink***

Nobel prize material...

[Lazamataz]

Now I finally know how they make those "Whale Calls"

bbrrrrrrrrappppppppp breeeeeeeeppppppp wwoooooooooopppp Whhhhhhaaaaaaaapppp bip bip breeeeeeeeppppp

[thesummerwind]

Say, that's a whale of a stink!