- The humpback whale carcass was spotted by fishermen off the coast of Norway
Shocked fishermen could not believe their eyes when they discovered a floating whale carcass ready to explode after it inflated due to trapped gases.
The Norwegian crew first spotted a huge black sphere bobbing on top of the water from about half a mile away, and were baffled as to what it was.
They tentatively approached to get a closer look before realising that it posed a danger, threatening to burst with significant force.
Veteran fisherman Dag Rydland said that he kept his boat at a safe distance, daring not to get closer than 100 metres for fear of the mammal exploding.
‘I hope it doesn’t wash up on the shore before then,’ he told newspaper Dagbladet, adding: ‘If it explodes, the smelly parts will fly many meters.’
The Norwegian crew were about half a mile away when they spotted a huge sphere bobbing on top of the water
Footage of the whale shows it tipped upside down with its taut black belly protruding out of the water
The sailor, who has been a fisherman for 27 years, said that while he had seen many dead whales in his time, this was the biggest he had ever come across.
‘It stuck out about three meters from the sea. The balloon was that big! I’ve been a fisherman for 27 years and have seen a few dead whales. But I’ve never experienced this size before.’
Footage of the whale shows it tipped upside down with its taut belly protruding out of the water – which the fishermen likened to a giant balloon.
The dead humpback was caught on camera as it bobbed in the open sea north of Norway’s Andoya Island, deep inside the Arctic Circle.
Whale researcher Tiu Similä also visited the site, telling NRK that she and her team drove their boat ‘around him, but not close’ as it looked like it was ‘going to explode’.
Bloated whale carcasses often explode when trapped gases are unable to seep out gradually.
When an animal dies, bacteria inside the carcass produces methane as part of the decomposition process, which can build up and breach the animal if not released.
Whales are the most extreme example of this because their huge size makes the consequences of a gas build-up so much greater.
In 2013, a biologist was filmed cutting open a washed up whale on the Faroe Islands.
A gruesome video captured by boaters in California last year showed a whale’s guts spilling out after it exploded
As soon as the biologist began working, the gas trapped inside exploded, spewing tons of organs and guts into the air.
Whales have also been seen exploding out at sea, with boaters off the coast of California capturing the gruesome scene of a dead whale bobbing in the ocean.
In the dramatic footage, the mammal lets out ‘one final burp’ before exploding – releasing blood and rotten guts.
A whale explosion was avoided in Cornwall last year, when a postmortem was carried out on a beached fin whale to prevent it from violently bursting.