Washed-up whale won’t stay buried
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Washed-Up Whale Won't Get Buried
A dead whale buried on a Rhode Island beach just won't go away.
Mario Hilario
The 30-foot humpback washed into shallow water near shore June 14 and was buried in a six-foot hole at low tide on Saturday.
Published: June 22, 2009
Updated: June 22, 2009
PROVIDENCE—A dead whale buried on a Rhode Island beach over the weekend just won’t go away.
The 30-foot humpback washed into shallow water near shore June 14 and was buried in a six-foot hole at low tide on Saturday.
But Ron Bogle, manager of the private Briggs Beach, said that wasn’t deep enough. He found the whale almost completely out of the ground Monday morning.
“It’s like ‘Poltergeist,“‘ Bogle said. “It’s back.“
Last week, the whale was in shallow water and couldn’t be buried until it was on solid ground. Workers thought they had a chance to bury it during Saturday’s low tide after officials from the Mystic Aquarium and Institute for Exploration took measurements and blubber samples.
But they couldn’t dig a deeper hole because water kept filling in.
Bogle said the next step is to dig a roughly 20-foot hole farther inland and push the whale into it with a bulldozer. Workers might also have to cut the whale to release air trapped inside its body, he said.
Since Briggs Beach is private, the beach owners have to pay to hire a private contractor for both burials, Bogle said. Last time a whale washed ashore at the beach, it cost about $1,500 to dig the deep hole.
“I was joking I’m going to send a letter to Obama and ask for some stimulus,“ Bogle said.
The beach opened for the season on Saturday. Bogle said that luckily, a southeasterly breeze is pushing the smell away from the beach.
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Reader Reactions
I have only 2 words for this situation…Good LORD!
They might have a hard time towing it out to sea if the whale is decomposed. It may break apart, and even then who would want to be near it with the smell of decomposition?
Oil floats on water, and that is what blubber is, mostly oil. Add to that the air that may be trapped inside it, and its no wonder it won’t stay buried—the tide coming in pushes it out of the sand.
The only realistic way is to cut it up and bury it in solid ground.
I have to agree. Who would bury a whale, A WHALE, on the beach in a shallow grave and not expect it to rise to the surface in short order. Again, RI looks like a state full of idiots. You can’t write this stuff!
The knew the whale was NOT dead! I went to the wake at Mystic Aquarium..the casket was closed…and only took 6 men to carry it.
Let me get this straight. They buried a 30 foot whale in a 6 foot hole at LOW tide and expected it to stay in under the sand when HIGH tide came in? DUH! Skinny people are buried deeper than that on solid ground. Only in moronic RI.
Why don’t they use their heads and tow the whale out to sea. There are plenty of sharks and other life out there that would appreciate it!
They should put an add on Craigs list under
Free Bluber
Bob Cumberland
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