The Fort is strong with this one. Amid news of fish raining in Malta, Mothman returning to Chicago and alleged chupacabras attacks in Honduras, perhaps the story that would have made the author of Lo! and the Book of the Damned raise his eyebrows the most is the discovery of a dead, juvenile humpback whale 50 feet off-shore the Amazon river in a mangrove swamp, as reported by The Telegraph.
The animal, measuring 36ft (11 metres), was hidden in the undergrowth a short distance from the shoreline in the forest of the northern Brazilian state of Para. It took two separate attempts by workers from the department of health, sanitation and environment (Semma) to reach the whale, which was only discovered because of the scavenging birds circling overhead.
Brazilian conservationists believe the 12-month calf got separated from its mother before being launched to the shore by the high tides during a recent storm. That must have been some storm, though, considering the carcass is so massive a team of volunteers was unable to lift it off and retrieve it from its mangrove grave, and cranes are unable to pass through the thick of the jungle.
The scientists will pick some samples to determine the cause of death, –and also to try to figure out what was the calf doing this early in the year in the mouth of the Amazon, since whales are more often seen off the coast of Southern Brazil from the months of August to November– and the rest will be left to decompose naturally.
Perhaps the scientists will discover the natural behavior of sea mammals is being disrupted by warmer oceans and industrial fishing. In the meantime, I’m sure by now J.J. Abrams is kicking himself for not thinking in something like this for his Lost series –maybe the whale was killed and dragged out of the river by polar bears!
