Sperm whale explodes in Faroe Islands

On November 26, 2013, the carcass of a dead sperm whale violently exploded in the Faroe Islands when a marine biologist began cutting it open.

Four sperm whales became stranded between the islands of Streymoy and Eysturoy. Two of the whales eventually died. A few days later, one of the dead whales was towed to a nearby abandoned whaling station (Við Áir) so the bones could be harvested for a future museum display. However, as they started to cut into the carcass, a violent explosion erupted from the whale’s abdomen spraying blood and entrails for many yards and nearly injuring Bjarni Mikkelsen, the biologist who was doing the cutting.

The story has been memorialized on our website here: Faroe Islands (11/26/2013)