Dead whale on beach: Fears rotting whale on Canadian beach could explode

A dead blue whale has washed up on a beach in Canada, causing concerns for locals, as it slowly rots and bloats.

The 25-metre whale carcass washed up on the western Newfoundland community of Trout River just over a week ago, and the smell is taking its toll on residents.

“Well, it’s getting worse now. It’s really getting… Every day. If the weather ever warmed up, it’d be really bad.”

Some are worried the carcass will have an impact on the community and local tourism.

“The smell of it right now and the gradual rotting of the whale are going to cause havoc on the community, health-wise, as well as for tourism. Right now, we have a stream of traffic coming to see this whale, and we would like that to develop further maybe into what can we do with this whale for future tourism?”

It’s thought the whale is one of a group of blue whales that died several weeks ago after getting trapped in ice off Newfoundland’s southwest coast. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans said this is a naturally occurring phenomenon.

Difficult words: rot (to be destroyed slowly by a natural chemical process), bloat (become filled with gas), carcass (dead body of an animal), take its toll (have a bad effect on), havoc (destruction), occur (happen), phenomenon (something that happens in nature).