Whale Dead in Courtmacsherry

shakeydude

poppysquirrel wrote: »

Its not as simple as people are making out. This whale has attracted thousands of people into the area since Thursday morning, and to this very minute there is still traffice congestion and curios onlookers descending on the area.
The Whale can only be reached from Kilbrittain. Courtmacsherry, while known for its lifeboat, is merely a village on the side of a channel, with 1 beach. Kilbrittain ss surrounded by beaches.
The whales lies a few metres off Burren Pier, Kilbrittain, and again any access can only be gained from walking from the Kilbrittain Beaches.

The whale expert that arrived from NY to examine the scene and perform the autopsy was brought over by Kilbrittain (invited and paid for). . National Geographic merely came along to film the event. Kilbrittain also contracted in the company who is to de-bone the mammal, dispose of its remains and are also the first who actually physically attended the scene of the whale, putting forward the future plans of preserving the bones. Which by law states that they are then entitled to it.

Courtmacsherry have tried going about claiming the whales:

1. Days after Kilbrittain had already specified plans for the whale, which is on Kilbrittain territory (clearly) and only accessible through Kilbrittain.
2. Courtmacsherry has not shed one penney into the entire operation.
3. Courtmacsherry was only called upon by the media as it represents the Courtmacsherry harbour lifeboat crew.

Its a pretty obvious standing from what I can see. It doesn't say much for the Courtmacsherry case when their means of getting the remains was by sneaking across, late in the dark night to unlawfully cut the poor animals head off with a chainsaw. So, if this was ok, why did they wait and sneak across in the dark of night? (during which, Kilbrittain people were still working at the scene)

And people can mock and jeer the situation as much as they like, but nothing like this has ever been seen on our coastlines, and people can not even consider the value of this, through publiity, tourism and actual monetary value.

I thought the Council paid the disposal??

Are you saying that Kilbrittain paid for expert or the National Geographic??

I suppose not one person from outside Kilbrittain helped out in the whole process so they can claim the age old phrase "finders keepers"

USA-Whale-Lady

Hello folks of Ireland. I am the "lady from America" that jetted in to conduct the autopsy. I have been following your posts with interest. I just wanted to clarify one factual error. My trip to Ireland to lead the dissection was paid for by Windfall Films. They are making a documentary for National Geographic and Channel 4.

Also, I am looking for very good quality still photos of the outside of the whale taken on Thursday or Friday before the whale became bloated and rolled over. when I arrived, the right side and back were hidden from my view. I was unable to asess some portions of the left side as well, due to premature removal of the flipper and some large strips of blubber on Sunday morning. I would like to know if any gashes/injuries/infections were present before an attempt was made to move the whale or strip the remaining blubber off the sides and back, and what these injuries looked like. I could see a series of parallel scratches that had some slight wiggles to them. I had supposed that they were from the whale being dragged, but it soulds like the movement was minimal (and over sand, not rocks) and therefore could not account for these long gashes. I would like to determine whether it was struck by a ship or initially stranded on rocks and got scraped up before re-stranding on the mudflats. If you have any good photos you wish to share with me, please send them to my gmail account: <joy.reidenberg@gmail.com>.

Sincere thanks,
Joy Reidenberg, Ph.D.

Svenolsen

BMurr wrote: »

Meat from Whales and Dolphins and other large predatory sea animals have a high accumulation of the toxic substances which we dump in the sea such as heavy metals,PCB's and dioxins. I think that anyone willing to eat the stuff must be either mad, stupid or Japanese.

Or Icelandic or Norwegianetc. etc.!

Whale meat is scrumptious:

http://icecook.blogspot.com/2006/08/how-to-cook-whale.html

Shark meat is scrumptious too ...You must let it rot for a few months..as in Iceland.

National Geographic Video:

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/places/culture-places/food/iceland_rottensharkmeat.html

.

Geansai

USA-Whale-Lady wrote: »

Hello folks of Ireland. I am the "lady from America" that jetted in to conduct the autopsy. I have been following your posts with interest. I just wanted to clarify one factual error. My trip to Ireland to lead the dissection was paid for by National Geographic.

Also, I am looking for very good quality still photos of the outside of the whale taken on Thursday or Friday before the whale became bloated and rolled over. when I arrived, the right side and back were hidden from my view. I was unable to asess some portions of the left side as well, due to premature removal of the flipper and some large strips of blubber on Sunday morning. I would like to know if any gashes/injuries/infections were present before an attempt was made to move the whale or strip the remaining blubber off the sides and back, and what these injuries looked like. I could see a series of parallel scratches that had some slight wiggles to them. I had supposed that they were from the whale being dragged, but it soulds like the movement was minimal (and over sand, not rocks) and therefore could not account for these long gashes. I would like to determine whether it was struck by a ship or initially stranded on rocks and got scraped up before re-stranding on the mudflats. If you have any good photos you wish to share with me, please send them to my gmail account: <joy.reidenberg@gmail.com>.

Sincere thanks,
Joy Reidenberg, Ph.D.

Wow!!! Very interesting!!. I'll see what I can do with regard the photos. Also, thank you for clearing up the runours and hearsay.

Courtmac local

poppysquirrel wrote: »

Its not as simple as people are making out. This whale has attracted thousands of people into the area since Thursday morning, and to this very minute there is still traffice congestion and curios onlookers descending on the area.
The Whale can only be reached from Kilbrittain. Courtmacsherry, while known for its lifeboat, is merely a village on the side of a channel, with 1 beach. Kilbrittain ss surrounded by beaches.
The whales lies a few metres off Burren Pier, Kilbrittain, and again any access can only be gained from walking from the Kilbrittain Beaches.

The whale expert that arrived from NY to examine the scene and perform the autopsy was brought over by Kilbrittain (invited and paid for). . National Geographic merely came along to film the event. Kilbrittain also contracted in the company who is to de-bone the mammal, dispose of its remains and are also the first who actually physically attended the scene of the whale, putting forward the future plans of preserving the bones. Which by law states that they are then entitled to it.

Courtmacsherry have tried going about claiming the whales:

1. Days after Kilbrittain had already specified plans for the whale, which is on Kilbrittain territory (clearly) and only accessible through Kilbrittain.
2. Courtmacsherry has not shed one penney into the entire operation.
3. Courtmacsherry was only called upon by the media as it represents the Courtmacsherry harbour lifeboat crew.

Its a pretty obvious standing from what I can see. It doesn't say much for the Courtmacsherry case when their means of getting the remains was by sneaking across, late in the dark night to unlawfully cut the poor animals head off with a chainsaw. So, if this was ok, why did they wait and sneak across in the dark of night? (during which, Kilbrittain people were still working at the scene)

And people can mock and jeer the situation as much as they like, but nothing like this has ever been seen on our coastlines, and people can not even consider the value of this, through publiity, tourism and actual monetary value.

I would like to correct the many innacurracies in your post,Firstly the Whale was first seen on the Sand bank by a local Courtmacsherry fisherman at aprox 0745hrs on the 15th,He then contacted the Life boat operations network and they then put a call out through the media to mobilise any assistance that could help the distressed whale.In the meantime local fishermen from Courtmacsherry lanched a boat and went to the stricken mammal to acess what help could be given.It was deceided that due to the falling tide and the enormous size and weight of the whale that towing was not an option and that it would only lead to more distress to the whale.I was the first person to arrive on the scene when the tide receded and the whale had already died.The whale is was on the Sandbank at Courtmacsherry and Poppysquirrels contention that it is off Kilbritains beaches is totally off the mark.There is no such place as Kilbritain beach and the village does not even appear on any map of the Courtmacsherry estuary or Harbour,it is miles inland ,has no maritime connection and is purely a farming village.Your contention that the whale should be yours because you paid for the outopsy has been rattled from as far away as America,the only reason that Kilbritain got involved was because a local contractor contacted the council with a view to getting the contract to remove the whale off the beach in other words driven by profit.

MunsterCycling

Sad people, fighting over a dead mammal. :rolleyes:

Geansai

Courtmac local wrote: »

I would like to correct the many innacurracies in your post,Firstly the Whale was first seen on the Sand bank by a local Courtmacsherry fisherman at aprox 0745hrs on the 15th,He then contacted the Life boat operations network and they then put a call out through the media to mobilise any assistance that could help the distressed whale.In the meantime local fishermen from Courtmacsherry lanched a boat and went to the stricken mammal to acess what help could be given.It was deceided that due to the falling tide and the enormous size and weight of the whale that towing was not an option and that it would only lead to more distress to the whale.I was the first person to arrive on the scene when the tide receded and the whale had already died.The whale is was on the Sandbank at Courtmacsherry and Poppysquirrels contention that it is off Kilbritains beaches is totally off the mark.There is no such place as Kilbritain beach and the village does not even appear on any map of the Courtmacsherry estuary or Harbour,it is miles inland ,has no maritime connection and is purely a farming village.Your contention that the whale should be yours because you paid for the outopsy has been rattled from as far away as America,the only reason that Kilbritain got involved was because a local contractor contacted the council with a view to getting the contract to remove the whale off the beach in other words driven by profit.

To correct you on your geography, Kilbrittain parish goes as far as Timoleague bridge. Burren Strand is in Kilbrittain parish. Kilbrittain village is one mile in land, but the whale did beach itself on Kilbrittain parish.

True, there is no such place as Kilbrittain beach, but there is Coolmain beach, Harbour View, Howes Strand, Lisheena and of course Burren strand, all of whihc are in Kilbrittain.

Kilbrittains claim on the whale is based on the geography of where the whale beached itself, unlike the Courtmac claim of sharing the name of the harbour.

JP Liz

I thought the whale was in Timoleague townland

Is it all gone now?

USA-Whale-Lady

JP Liz wrote: »

I thought the whale was in Timoleague townland

Is it all gone now?

I last saw it on Sunday evening. As the bones were to be harvested for a skeleton display, and the remainder trucked off to a rendering plant, I can only assume most of the whale is gone by now. We all agree that it is sad to see a great creature die. Death is natural, and not every sick animal can be saved. If left alone, nature would have pulled the entrails out over time through the process of decomposition and scavenging by other animals. It is not natural for a body to remain intact after death. We did pretty much the same thing (without eating it!), only we made the process faster and safer. However, it saddens me to see that some folks do not understand what was really happening. It is too bad we did not have an efficient way to get the word out to everyone about why we were cutting up the whale.
So, let me summarize:
1) Leaving it alone presents an explosion risk. As the whale decomposed, gases were building up inside. At some point in the next day or two, the skin would have ruptured on its own and the entrails would be ejected under the pressure like out of a cannon, and strewn all over the harbor and shore. Not a pretty sight! Also, this would present a health risk, as the organs are covered in infectious material (we do not know what bacteria or virus infected the whale.) Cutting it open allowed the gases to escape and reduce this risk.
2) Opening the whale afforded an opportunity to find out why the whale died and whether it was rescuable, therefore adding valuable information that could help us better handle the next live whale that comes in.
3) Examining the organs gives us valuable scientific information about the anatomy of a creature that we know very little about. We are learning how they adapt to living in water, dealing with extremes in temperature & pressure, neutral bouyancy, vocalizing underwater, etc. We hope this knowledge will provide inspiration for new inventions. We look to see how nature solves problems, and try to mimic that in the development of new engineering materials and new medical treatments.
4) Recovering, cleaning, and mounting the skeleton for free public display will hopefully provide a wonderful educational opportunity for all who visit.

Thus, in the end, the autopsy of the whale is far from a desecration. Rather, we have tried to make some good come of its death.

Sincerely,
Joy

Trojan911

USA-Whale-Lady wrote: »

Also, I am looking for very good quality still photos of the outside of the whale taken on Thursday or Friday before the whale became bloated and rolled over.joy.reidenberg@gmail.com>.

I have 41 images of this whale. They were taken on the Thursday at 15.50hrs or there abouts approximately 4hrs after LPE. The majority of them are close ups and cover all angles. (Taken for a newspaper, thus the amount).

They are full format jpeg approx 5mb each in size so to large to go to your gmail. If you PM me an address either here or NY I will upload them onto a disc & send them to you.

thecurlyone

I have about 12-13 good quality photos taken on the 15th at 1 o clock, I can also pass these on if you wish. Just pm

BMurr

I'm sorry to hear that the remains will be carted off to a rendering plant. We already take so much from the sea that i think it woulkd have been nice to give back to nature the nutrients which sea life would have been able to use from the carcass, surely a few fishing trawlers could have taken a good portion of the remnains back out to sea? But then where would the profit in that be?

Geansai

BMurr wrote: »

I'm sorry to hear that the remains will be carted off to a rendering plant. We already take so much from the sea that i think it woulkd have been nice to give back to nature the nutrients which sea life would have been able to use from the carcass, surely a few fishing trawlers could have taken a good portion of the remnains back out to sea? But then where would the profit in that be? It's amazing how greed and the desire to profit is ever present whatever the situation.

I'm not sure I completely understand. How is anyone make a profit from the whale (other than the chippers)??

I really don't see the greed nd the desire to profit in this one.

BMurr

Geansai wrote: »

I'm not sure I completely understand. How is anyone make a profit from the whale (other than the chippers)??

I really don't see the greed nd the desire to profit in this one.

I had presumed, perhaps wrongly that a rendering plant will pay for such meat/blubber and that it will turn it into pig food or dog food or something saleable?

Geansai

As far as I was aware it was an incenerator, which just burned the flesh.

I could be wrong though...

BMurr

Geansai wrote: »

As far as I was aware it was an incenerator, which just burned the flesh.quote]

Crikey, how daft would that be when a perfectly natural and very appropriate disposal method is within sight of the carcass. This animal could have fed an ecosystem for several months if not a year.

USA-Whale-Lady

Geansai wrote: »

As far as I was aware it was an incenerator, which just burned the flesh.

I could be wrong though...

You might be right. The parts might have gone to an incinerator. I do not know.
As for rendering, if the parts went there, I hope they would not use it for animal feed. I do not know what disease(s) this animal had, nor is it clear whether it might have a high load of pollutants and toxins accumulated in the flesh and blubber.
Bringing the remains out to sea might pose a health hazard, as the flesh would likely float, not sink. Unless currents bring it out to open ocean (where it would feed sharks, birds, and other scavengers), then the parts might float back to someone else's shores and create another health hazard (people touching it, dogs eating it, etc.).

poppysquirrel

Does anyone know if the rumours of the Whale being pregnant are true?

Poloman

I thought this was a thread about Mary Harney

USA-Whale-Lady

poppysquirrel wrote: »

Does anyone know if the rumours of the Whale being pregnant are true?

We didn't see any fetus, but we didn't have time for a full examination of the uterus.

poppysquirrel

Poloman wrote: »

I thought this was a thread about Mary Harney

HA HA HA!!!

And thanks Joy, its a shame there wasn't time for a complete examination. Poor Whale. Is it confirmed that the whale died from a disease of some sort?

Thanks

USA-Whale-Lady

poppysquirrel wrote: »

And thanks Joy, its a shame there wasn't time for a complete examination. Poor Whale. Is it confirmed that the whale died from a disease of some sort?

Thanks

Can't be sure, since it was too late for testing for viral or bacterial contamination. Hey, for all I know, maybe it just got drunk and crashed in the harbor - you know... too much beer in the waters around Ireland!!



P.S. I just found out the whale's soft tissues were incinerated, to the tune of 28.68 tonnes (that doesn't include the skeleton, fluids that drained, or random cut off parts like large strips of blubber that washed away).

You can hear my interview on RTE radio today!
http://www.rte.ie/radio/mooneygoeswild/fp2009/january23.html

(I'm the one on top of the whale in the last image on the website.)

shakeydude

USA-Whale-Lady wrote: »

I last saw it on Sunday evening. As the bones were to be harvested for a skeleton display, and the remainder trucked off to a rendering plant, I can only assume most of the whale is gone by now. We all agree that it is sad to see a great creature die. Death is natural, and not every sick animal can be saved. If left alone, nature would have pulled the entrails out over time through the process of decomposition and scavenging by other animals. It is not natural for a body to remain intact after death. We did pretty much the same thing (without eating it!), only we made the process faster and safer. However, it saddens me to see that some folks do not understand what was really happening. It is too bad we did not have an efficient way to get the word out to everyone about why we were cutting up the whale.
So, let me summarize:
1) Leaving it alone presents an explosion risk. As the whale decomposed, gases were building up inside. At some point in the next day or two, the skin would have ruptured on its own and the entrails would be ejected under the pressure like out of a cannon, and strewn all over the harbor and shore. Not a pretty sight! Also, this would present a health risk, as the organs are covered in infectious material (we do not know what bacteria or virus infected the whale.) Cutting it open allowed the gases to escape and reduce this risk.
2) Opening the whale afforded an opportunity to find out why the whale died and whether it was rescuable, therefore adding valuable information that could help us better handle the next live whale that comes in.
3) Examining the organs gives us valuable scientific information about the anatomy of a creature that we know very little about. We are learning how they adapt to living in water, dealing with extremes in temperature & pressure, neutral bouyancy, vocalizing underwater, etc. We hope this knowledge will provide inspiration for new inventions. We look to see how nature solves problems, and try to mimic that in the development of new engineering materials and new medical treatments.
4) Recovering, cleaning, and mounting the skeleton for free public display will hopefully provide a wonderful educational opportunity for all who visit.

Thus, in the end, the autopsy of the whale is far from a desecration. Rather, we have tried to make some good come of its death.

Sincerely,
Joy

Jeez it is great to get feedback from the "Whale Lady", I was going to wade into the Kilbrittain vs Courtmac arguement but this is far more interesting!!!

Thanks Whale Lady

USA-Whale-Lady

shakeydude wrote: »

Jeez it is great to get feedback from the "Whale Lady", I was going to wade into the Kilbrittain vs Courtmac arguement but this is far more interesting!!!

Thanks Whale Lady

Does anyone know who ended up with the skeleton? Did the missing flipper ever resurface and get re-united with the rest of the skeleton?

Trojan911

shakeydude wrote: »

Jeez it is great to get feedback from the "Whale Lady", I was going to wade into the Kilbrittain vs Courtmac arguement but this is far more interesting!!!Thanks Whale Lady

It is very interesting, some months back I photographed a 20ft Mink whale back in Duneen Strand not far from this whale (similar circumstances). Magnificant creatures & so tragic they do this to themsevles. Hopefully with further research an explanation could be fourthcoming. As for the Kilbrittan v Courtmac argument, only in Ireland...... Oi! Gerroff Moi Land Whale....

USA-Whale-Lady

Trojan911 wrote: »

As for the Kilbrittan v Courtmac argument, only in Ireland...... Oi! Gerroff Moi Land Whale....

What does that translate to in English? "Hey! Get off my land [whale]"?

Trojan911

USA-Whale-Lady wrote: »

What does that translate to in English? "Hey! Get off my land [whale]"?

Yes, There was a movie called The Field where two fellas were arguing over land, now it appears we may have a remake called The Whale.....

Svenolsen

Trojan911 wrote: »

now it appears we may have a remake called The Whale.....

A lot of the film Moby Dick was filmed in County Cork so we can name it "Moby Dick...the Sequel" .

Moby Dick scenes filmed in County Cork:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtTHP6sa0UY

.

Svenolsen

Trojan911 wrote: »

now it appears we may have a remake called The Whale.....

A lot of the film Moby Dick was filmed in County Cork so we can name it "Moby Dick...the Sequel" .

Moby Dick scenes filmed in County Cork:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wtTHP6sa0UY

.

dh0661

Svenolsen wrote: »

A lot of the film Moby Dick was filmed in County Cork[URL="http://"][/URL]

From my own personal experience, I can confirm that there are alot of moby dicks in county Cork. :rolleyes: