Stinking whale carcass drives tourists off Goa beach

sboivin

It happened when I was there last year, does anyone knows what they did to solve the probelem? I can't find any updates on the web1!

http://newshopper.sulekha.com/topic/...-goa-beach.htm

Stinking whale carcass drives tourists off Goa beach

Panaji, May 7 (IANS) The carcass of a 14-metre-long humpback whale, hastily buried by forest department officials in the popular Palolem beach in south Goa, is driving away tourists due to stench from the dead animal, much to the ire of local shopkeepers dependent on the tourists.
The blubbery carcass of the whale had washed ashore at a small uninhabited island off Palolem April 29. The stinking carcass was later hooked to speed boats and brought to the Palolem beach, 70 km from here.
The forest department officials, who were supervising the operation, chose to bury the massive whale bang in the middle of the beach in a shallow pit. An overbearing stench from the carcass is now driving tourists away from the beach.
'Who will want to come to the beach now? Even we can barely stay at our shacks with this kind of stench,' Ramesh Dessai, who runs a popular eatery at a beachside shack at Palolem beach, said Thursday.
'Dogs have now started digging up the pit and feasting on the rotting whale,' he said.
Speaking to IANS, range forest officer Miguel Fernandes said they had not dug the pit, but had requisitioned the Canacona Municipal Council (CMC) to execute the task.
'They had to dig the pit quickly. We did not have time on our hands. The carcass had to be buried quickly because it was already beginning to smell,' Fernandes said.
The CMC meanwhile has promised to solve the stench issue quickly. 'We are aware of the problem. The CMC is in the process of making alternate arrangements,' Agnelo Fernandes, a municipal council official, said.
The Palolem beach is one of the most popular beach in south Goa and is famous for its pristine surroundings and its relatively less commercialised surroundings.

abracax

Cool!

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machadinha

Depends on what you call a "problem" I guess. Yes, whales get stranded, all over the world, and then they'll die, and they won't smell very good because of it. (Some might actually rush in to try and get them afloat again before they die. Not an easy feat, one hears.)

That link doesn't open for me, but are you really referring to something from last year? What are you expecting, a guarantee that no whale will ever get stranded again to offend your finely-tuned olfactory senses? That'd be very nice, but mostly for the whales you'd think.

("Er, sir, I paid very dearly for this web deal package. Now there's a non-included whale on my beach! Can't you at least keep him from dying & so stinking up the place until I'm gone? And then these local fishermen while I'm at it... Did you notice they actually poop on the beach, too?")

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sboivin

Chill Machadinha, I didn't mean to bug you.
The problem is getting rid of a 14 metres whale, I'm curious to know what they did, if you're not....

rsk11584

Last years incident, usually as people come to know either the fisherman themselves will take part and pieces of carcass and sale it, if something is saleable in the whale, else will inform the local municipal coroporation which will do needful to remove the dead carcass, as it is INDIA, usually it will take time.

By the way any specific reason to ask this question after one year, because it is really amazing.

machadinha

You're afraid the "problem" is still lying there?

(I guess Montreal may not be very close to any beaches -- well, a look at a map would suggest there's plenty of water there btw, and seeing how it's getting close to the arctic probably holding more whales too. Whales get stranded where I live if not all that often, in The Netherlands. They don't tend to take notice of favorite tourist spots to do so. If a rare specimen, attempts may be made to preserve them for some natural history museum. If not, they'll just get cut up and removed I guess. In some other cultures, it would stand to reason any salvageable bits would be taken for further use first I suppose.)

Nick-H

I was going to quip. "when I die, I must remember to do it somewhere where my smell won't offend the tourists" --- and, as I thought that was rather a good line, it is shame that sboivin has explained that that is not where he is coming from

This is very curious... I'm sure I saw an article today in the papers about a blue whale washed up, but I can't find it, and I can't find any link .

I do not think it is very common for dead whales, especially not really huge ones, to wash up on beaches. I've heard of them swimming ashore, and having to be rescued, which sometimes work, sometimes not.

Haylo

If a whale is washed up, scavengers will reduce the carcase and it won't smell for long. It is not a problem.

It seems that the problem HERE is that some idiot thought it would be a great idea to bury it too deep for scavengers to easily reduce the carcase to bones, but too shallow to prevent it from stinking the entire beach out.

Way to go guys...

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capt_mahajan

A blue whale was washed up in California a few days ago, apparently after it collided with a ship. Dunno if it is that one you mean, but here is a link

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...alifornia.html

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Nick-H

"collided with a ship", yes that is the one. Thanks Capt.

Sorry for the red herring.

Blue Whale; Red Herring?

capt_mahajan

Pink Gin?

lola_76

Sboivin didn't say he was offended or worried this happens again. He says this curious thing happened and now he wonders if anyone can tell how it was removed. It is interesting and natural to wonder. Maybe the dogs slowly took care of it. How long is whale meat good?

I thought you mean this thing is happening now! I was excited to go see the whale. Too bad.

Nick-H

Backround music:

Whale meat again,
Don't know where,
Don't know when,
I only know we'll meet again,
Some sunny day....

Blubber on a cocktail stick with your gin, Capt?

Nick-H

Yes, we caught up with that!In this climate... about three hours, I would guess!

plugugly

Well this happened in Calungute beach many years back ... and the answer is simple .... they blew it up into tiny pieces .... Problem solved!
No stench to complain of, best solution methinks.