26 Years After Its Death, This Blue Whale Astounds Scientists

[Article déjà publié le 25 octobre 2024]

Exposed to New Bedford Whaling Museum In the Massachussets (USA) since 2000, the skeleton of Kobo, a young blue whale who died in sad circumstances in 1998 fascinates scientists. Indeed, although it goes against all logic, the Rorqual, or at least its remains, continues to produce oil.

The sad end of Kobo the blue whale

Among the rarest animals on the planet, blue whale is also the largest animal that can be found on earth. Being able to measure up to 24 meters and weigh 150 tonnes, the blue or Rorqual blue whale is a species classified as being in critical danger by the IUCN (International Union for Nature Conservation).

The main reason for this is the hunt that has decimated the population worldwide. Indeed, according to WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature), between 1926 and 2018, the number of blue whales worldwide increased from 125,000 to only 3,000 individuals.

Kobo, the acronym of King of the Blue Ocean (King of the Blue Ocean), did not experience a similar end to his fellows chased. On the other hand, his death is due to another human activity. Thus, in 1998, the young 20-meter blue whale collided with the propeller of a tanker, an oil tanker, 148 meters and died at the time of Nova Scotia in Canada.

“” “He must have been five years old and weigh almost 36 tonnes when he died”Said Bob Rocha, a museum curator at Popular Science.

Discovered by another hydrocarbon transport ship, the whale body was taken to Rhodes Island on the East Coast of the United States. There, his corpse was cleaned and his flesh eliminated to keep only his bones. A work that lasted five months before arriving at New Bedford Whaling Museum To be exhibited there in 2000.

A whale that continues to “produce” oil

If today, in the vast majority of the world except in Japan for example, whale hunting is prohibited and punished by law, this has not always been the case. It was a particularly lucrative sector until the 20th century.

Indeed, in addition to the “glory” that one could harvest to have hunting one of the largest animals that exist on earth, the whalers took a considerable profit from their flesh, but also from their oil. As a information sheet of the Government of Canada recalls, “Whale oil was a sought -after commodity in Europe at the time [ndr, entre le XVIe et le XVIIe siècle] Because it produced a brighter flame. It also served as lubricant for leather items and additives in the manufacture of paintings, varnishes and soaps.»

If we know the “utility” of the oil for humans, for whales, this “rare commodity” serves them to keep themselves warm by feeding the fatty layer which runs through their bodies and is also a source of energy in the event of lack of food.

Kobo, during his lifetime, like any whale, produced oil to protect himself from the cold. However, the skeleton of the juvenile Rorqual continues to produce 26 years after its tragic death. Giving off a particular and very strong odor in the museum, the oil would allow “Visitors get an idea of ​​what it could have been to be stuck on a whale ship for three years.”Explains Bob Rocha in remarks reported by Iflscience.

Bad cleaning in question

Even if Halloween is approaching in grand-pas, do not see in the skeleton of this whale, a message from the beyond. Kobo left us well and sadly in 1998.

As reminded Popular Sciencethe fact that the Kobo skeleton knows oil leaks is completely normal. Indeed, in nature, when a whale dies and therefore its body joins the oceanic depths, the oil evacuated naturally in the ocean and its whole corpse serves as a source of food for species based on the seabed and oceanic.

However, if the oil continues to flee blue whale bones exposed to New Bedford Whaling Museumit is only because of the fact that the substance was not fully extracted from its bones when its corpse was cleaned. In fact, until the resource is exhausted, Kobo will continue to deliver oil.

In 2010, the museum had installed a jar to recover Kobo oil in order to prevent visitors from slipping or staining during the visit, but also to see how much it was possible to collect.

According to information from Popular Sciencethe skeleton of the whale therefore delivers its oil in a 1000 milliliters jar. “” “We missed a good ten years of oil flow. It is certain that there were even more that came out for the first ten years.“Said Bob Rocha.

Source : Iflscience / Popular Science