Once a whale dies, it may float at or near the ocean's surface for a few days due to gas buildup, but eventually the carcass sinks, carried by ocean currents and often landing in the deep sea. These whale falls are rare but are most often seen along the migratory routes of living whales.
When a whale begins to decompose on the ocean's surface, bacteria eat away at the fat, kickstarting the fermentation process. In the same way that yeast causes bread to rise by releasing air, these decomposers also release gas—but this gas has no way to escape, and remains trapped inside the whale, keeping it afloat.
When whales die and sink, the whale carcasses, or whale falls, provide a sudden, concentrated food source and a bonanza for organisms in the deep sea. Different stages in the decomposition of a whale carcass support a succession of marine biological communities. Scavengers consume the soft tissue in a matter of months.
Historically, whalers reported that certain species of whales float after death (right and sperm whales) while most others sink. Right whales have also been shown to normally need to actively swim down until lung collapse depth, where they can then glide to deeper depths (Nowacek et al., 2001).
Once a whale dies, it may float at or near the ocean's surface for a few days due to gas buildup, but eventually the carcass sinks, carried by ocean currents and often landing in the deep sea. These whale falls are rare but are most often seen along the migratory routes of living whales.
In warmer climates, the internal decomposition of dead whales can result in spontaneous explosions. Gut bacteria in the whales can multiply quickly, producing large quantities of methane gas.
As its body decomposed it would provide a wealth of nutrition both to land scavengers — including condors and grizzly bears — and to scavengers from the sea, such as crabs. The bodies of some modern whales are allowed to decompose naturally on the beach in this way, feeding the onshore and nearshore ecosystems.
Whalers labeled these animals "right whales" because they considered them the "right" whales to hunt. They swam slowly in coastal waters, floated when dead, and yielded large amounts of oil and baleen.
Dead bodies in the water usually tend to sink at first, but later they tend to float, as the post-mortem changes brought on by putrefaction produce enough gases to make them buoyant.
Beachgoers are always advised to stay far away from, and not touch, a deceased beached whale. This is because when the gaseous pressure inside the whale builds up to dangerous levels, it can have 'explosive' consequences.
The whales are often towed back out to sea away from shipping lanes, allowing them to decompose naturally, or they are towed out to sea and blown up with explosives. Government-sanctioned explosions have occurred in South Africa, Iceland, Australia and United States. If the carcass is older, it is buried.
Decay sets in soon after the death of a whale, as the insides begin to decompose. The animal then expands with gas and sometimes floats up to the ocean's surface, where it can be scavenged by sharks and seabirds.
Science sites quickly conjectured that the viral whale eruption may simply have been a “gassy” explosion as an animal body naturally decomposes. Whales can apparently hold in gasses, or the “death burp,” for long periods after they die, sometimes resulting in massive and extremely messy explosions.
If asked, do whales sleep underwater? The answer is simple, YES they do. Their bodies shut down but only half of their mind stays at rest so that they conscientiously remember to breathe. Breathing near the surface where whales sleep allows them to breathe more conscientiously, meaning each and every breath counts.
Once the body comes to rest, biologists refer to this as a whale fall. As you would guess, other fish and sea animals initially eat the meat off the carcass. However, what came as a surprise to ocean researchers was the finding that dead whales support entire ecosystems.
After only a few minutes on land, the whale's own body weight would crush its organs without the ocean's buoyancy and weightlessness to hold it up. Second, due to the thick layer of blubber (over 1 ft. of blubber in some species) and lack of water, the whale would quickly overheat, get dehydrated, and dry out.
So, if you ever come across a dead whale on the beach, it is best to keep your distance, as you never know what kind of pressure the carcass might be under, or whether the massive beast is close to bursting!
Whales have an incredibly thick layer of insulating blubber. Without the water to keep them cool, they overheat and lose too much water via evaporation from their lungs.
So how do whale die? Human activities, including hunting, pollution, and injuries from massive ships can kill whales. Other causes of death may be old age, starvation, infection, complications giving birth, or becoming beached.
A decomposing whale carcass generates gases which build up inside their stomach and large internal organs. This then causes them to expand, but whale skin and blubber are tough so the gases become trapped inside, according to National Geographic.
When a whale dies, the story has just begun. The massive carcass sinks to the seafloor, where it provides food for a deep sea ecosystem on the otherwise mostly barren seafloor. There are several stages to the whale fall ecosystem as different parts of the whale are used up.
Numerous organizations around the country are trained and ready to respond. If you see a sick, injured, stranded, or dead marine mammal or sea turtle, immediately contact your local stranding network (phone numbers provided below). You can also use our Dolphin and Whale 911 app to report a stranded marine mammal.
One whale is worth thousands of trees — and about two million dollars, according to a recent study by the International Monetary Fund. But how do we calculate the value of a whale?
Strategies include burying the body, transporting it to a landfill or incinerator, towing it out to sea, and in at least one misguided case, detonating it.