Why Whales EXPLODE?

Again news and spectacular videos of exploding whale carcasses are circulating on the web. But is this all possible or anything fake?

Sad news from the German-Dutch North Sea coast. In the course of January 2016, a total of twelve sperm whales died there after being stranded in the shallow waters. Whether under-nutrition and debilitation have led to the beaching of the whales, is still under investigation.

In the North Sea the animals probably lost their way along the Norwegian coast, instead of swimming in the south-west around Great Britain.

Of course the dead whales could not just lie on the beach and had to be prepared for transport. To prevent the bad smelling putrefactive gases from beach walkers, the sandbank as a precaution was completely blocked. Even before a possible whale explosion was partly warned.

But whales can explode at all?

In fact, there are reports of burrowing whales. But by itself, according to experts, this does not happen. So far there are no documented cases. The thick fat layer and the anatomy, which allows a very deep dipping, would prevent this.

However, what has often happened: when the whale is improperly "degassed", the high pressure and the sudden escape of the gases can lead to the bursting of the carcass. This is also exactly what you can observe in several internet videos.

So also happen in 2013, one of the last documented cases. The autopsy of a sperm whale cadavers in the Faroe Islands has taken an unpleasant turn. The intestines were hurled out of the carcass at an estimated speed of more than 60 km / h.

But why do you have to "degass" the animals at all?

Already shortly after death, certain decomposition gases accumulate in the body of the whale due to the decomposition of bacteria. In order for the carcass to be safely disposed of and safely transported away, the whale must be divided into smaller parts. In order to prevent uncontrolled bursting, the gas is already tried in advance by deep cuts in the abdominal wall.