In a sad and gruesome twist, the initial explosive charge set off directly above the brain of a stranded juvenile humpback whale in Western Australia failed to kill the animal. After the whale continued thrashing for several minutes, a wildlife officer began firing several shots into its head, as can be seen in the photo above. After a total of 15 minutes, a second charge was detonated, finally killing the suffering creature. This was really the worst possible outcome of the decision to euthanize this stranded whale. Really, once you’ve made that decision, can there be such a thing as using  too many explosives ? I mean, if your plan is to “put it out of its misery,” then why not just plan to blow it to kingdom come? If you think X pounds of explosives is enough, why not just use 5X for good measure?  And if the explosives didn’t kill it, why would they then think that shooting it full of bullets for 15 minutes was going to finish the job?  The thought processes that lead...

It’s been almost exactly three years since the  last time  explosives were used to end the life of a suffering whale. This merciful act has happened again today, September 30, 2008, in West Australia. Explosives have been used to put down a dying 15 tonne humpback whale stranded in shallow waters at Jurien Bay. The whale thrashed its tail for at least five minutes after the blast, which was authorised by the Department of Environment…. Department of Environment spokesman Nigel Higgs confirmed the whale’s death just after 5pm. “We have just euthanised the whale and we will propose to bury it on site,” Mr. Higgs said. The whale was euthanised by a technique which caused an implosion into its brain. “It went as well as it can be expected, it is a big animal,” Mr Higgs said. A 1km exclusion zone was enforced around the whale while the procedure took place. Not surprisingly, the act was condemned by a former whale rescuer and animal activist: The veteran animal campaigner said the ...

Wildlife officials in Australia are planning to euthanize a dying, stranded whale with an explosive charge directed into the creature’s brain. The 16-ton juvenile humpback whale has been stranded for five days in  Jurien Bay  in Western Australia and is believed to be either sick or injured.  Officials had originally planned to keep the whale as comfortable as possible and let it die on its own. “The whale is so weak that it can’t be rescued and moving such a large animal is not possible without causing it significant damage and distress, and it is too big to euthanase,” [senior wildlife officer] Mr. Coughran said. But five days later, the whale was still alive. “It’s taking a while to die,” Mr. Coughran said. “What we’ve been doing is monitoring the process and now it’s getting to a stage where its condition is such that we can seriously consider efficient and instantaneous ways to euthanise it.” Those in charge are “now looking to end the 10m animal’s suffering by deton...

The  New Carissa  was a wood-chip freighter that ran aground on the Oregon coast during a storm in February 1999. Initial efforts to refloat and tow the ship back out to sea failed. As cracks developed in the hull, fuel oil began leaking out, and to avert an environmental disaster, officials decided to try burning off the several hundred thousand gallons of remaining fuel.  It is at this point that the tale of the  New Carissa  takes on an uncanny resemblance to the Exploding Whale. Officials decided to use over 600 gallons of napalm, 39 shaped charges, nearly 400 pounds of plastic explosives, and other incendiary devices to set the fuel ablaze. It took several attempts, but after 33 hours, between 165,000 and 255,000 gallons had burned off. Despite this, anywhere from 25,000 to 140,000 gallons of fuel oil and diesel are believed to have leaked out. In addition, the explosions and heat from the fire further compromised the structural integrity of the ship, event...

The carcass of a dead  minke whale  that washed up on the  west coast of England  is at risk of exploding as gases released by the rotting flesh collect inside the whale. Minke whales are common in the waters around the UK, but carcasses rarely wash up in this area. As a result, the dead leviathan has attracted numerous onlookers.  Scientists have been taking samples from the carcass and are set to release the build up of gas from the creature’s body to prevent it from exploding. Whale carcass washes up on beach   – BBC News Minke whale washed up   – Liverpool Echo Photos of the whale carcass Whale carcass washes up on beach Scientists from Liverpool University have been studying a whale which was washed up on the Merseyside coast. The nearly fully grown male minke whale was already dead when it was beached near Formby over the weekend. No one is sure how the creature died but the decaying carcass has become a macabre tourist attraction with hordes of ...