Making Waves Weekly: A fake dead whale, Southern Residents return to Penn Cove, and more…
Plus: 10 percent off.
We’ve had many new readers in the last few weeks, so I just wanted to welcome you!
My name is Kelvey Vander Hart, and I am the ocean-obsessed person who runs The Saltwater Chronicles and writes ‘Making Waves Weekly.’ This newsletter is distributed on Fridays (early in the day would always be awesome, but some days like today it will go out in the evening for you to enjoy Saturday morning with your coffee) and aims to capture some highlights from the last week or two of ocean news. We’ll occasionally have weeks off (usually announced in advance), holiday editions, or long-form articles to replace that week’s newsletter.
I’m glad you’re here! Now, this week’s content:
HIGHLIGHTS
Why did people visit a fake dead whale?
It’s huge. It stinks. It’s rotting. It’s a dead whale!
Well…sort of.
Captain Boomer Collective created a fake beached sperm whale exhibition on the shores of the Caspian Sea in Baku, Azerbaijan, during the COP29 climate summit. Aiming to draw attention to global ecological destruction that is killing the planet’s creatures, including marine life, the whale display is part of an ongoing project that installs “a life-size, hyperreal statue of a sperm whale beaches on the shores and river banks of the old world.”
The installation doesn’t just generate shock and awe—it educates people on whale beaching. The organization explains:
“Together with real scientists, we supply ample information about sperm whales and why they beach. The audience witnesses a scientific intervention. Autopsy, sampling, dissection, etc, are acted out in detail. We also show people parasites, teeth and samples of skin and (real) spermaceti oil. The site is often very popular with school classes and children.”
The installation mimics a rotting sperm whale corpse very well, down to the smell. When the group sets up the fake whale, they hide rotting fish nearby to replicate the scent of decay.
Today was the final day for the Caspian Sea installation, and it has attracted thousands of visitors while it has been displayed. Bart Van Peel, the organization’s chief navigating officer, said that the sight of the realistic dead whale had provoked an emotional reaction in many, with some visitors staying for more than an hour.
Read more about the display (and see pictures) here or here.
Southern Residents return to the site of historic orca captures
For the first time in more than 50 years, Southern Resident orcas have been spotted in Penn Cove. The return of these orcas to this particular spot is a little emotional because Penn Cove is the site of the most devastating orca roundup in American history.
Whidbey Island’s Penn Cove was the holding site for an orca roundup that started in August 1970. The roundup was chiefly to obtain orcas to sell to aquariums and marine life parks like SeaWorld. Over 80 orcas were rounded up that day, and several animals drowned.
The Penn Cove captures were particularly bad for Southern Residents, as most of the captured orcas came from their specific ecotype. To see the Southern Residents return to these waters is both heartwarming and a chilling reminder of what once took place.
Read more about the return of the Southern Residents here and the Penn Cove captures here.
The world’s largest coral discovered
Move over, blue whale: The largest animal in the world has just been discovered, and it’s actually coral.
Even though coral looks a lot like colorful rock structures, coral polyps are tiny living organisms that usually join with other polyps in colonies (coral reefs). A National Geographic scientific expedition in the Solomon Islands recently discovered a coral formation that is 100 feet long (longer than most blue whales, the largest creature on earth) and comprised of more than one billion coral polyps.
But wait, there’s more! All these polyps are genetically identical, so they are actually considered to be one giant creature. It is longer than two basketball courts, 300 years old, and visible from space.
Read more about the coral discovery here or here.
DATA POINT
Want to get some new gear and help save the ocean? Blue Planet Society is having a pre-Black Friday sale, and everything is 10 percent off for the next week. The organization sells sustainable, thoughtful gear to help fund marine conservation advocacy. Check out the store here and use the code TAKE10 to get the discount!
ICYMI
SWIMMING ACROSS YOUR SCREEN
Signing off on this week's marine news. See you next week with a new wave of ocean updates!
Kelvey 🌊🦈
P.S. You can send news tips, story ideas, hate mail, and photos of cute ocean creatures to thesaltwaterchronicles@gmail.com.