At the end of January I went with some friends into Camp for the weekend. One of my friends was leaving the islands to go travelling and had hired a house for the weekend for a party. It was in the middle of nowhere about an hour’s drive or so from North Arm, a small settlement in Lafonia. I had a great time and got to try out my new camping gear which was great. The best bit, though, was going to the beach which was a 15 minute drive from the house.
The beach had been the site of a massive pilot whale stranding about 5 or 6 years ago. Some of the skeletons still litter the beach, although a lot have been taken by collectors. The bones got better the further you went along the beach as you went further than most people would be bothered to go.
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Many of the skulls had been looted for their teeth, but eventually we came across some with jaws largely intact.
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As we went further along the beach the skeletons got better and better until we came across a few that were largely complete. Some even had some skin still attached, desiccated by the wind until they were practically mummified.
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Although it was sad to think they’d all stranded and died here, it was great to see the whales. I’ve seen them a few times at sea and it’s so hard to get any sense of size. Here they were right in front of you and you could really see just how big they were. You could see their flippers and how the bones were really hand-like. I found it fascinating and even my non-biologist friends found it fascinating which is always good!
The beach had been the site of a massive pilot whale stranding about 5 or 6 years ago. Some of the skeletons still litter the beach, although a lot have been taken by collectors. The bones got better the further you went along the beach as you went further than most people would be bothered to go.
.jpg)
Many of the skulls had been looted for their teeth, but eventually we came across some with jaws largely intact..jpg)
As we went further along the beach the skeletons got better and better until we came across a few that were largely complete. Some even had some skin still attached, desiccated by the wind until they were practically mummified..jpg)
Although it was sad to think they’d all stranded and died here, it was great to see the whales. I’ve seen them a few times at sea and it’s so hard to get any sense of size. Here they were right in front of you and you could really see just how big they were. You could see their flippers and how the bones were really hand-like. I found it fascinating and even my non-biologist friends found it fascinating which is always good!
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