The Whale Cemetery

This is the first actual record of a whale cemetery being found, and there are probably several other grottoes which serve the same function, scattered in banks and islands accross this area of the Indian Ocean. This concept, the idea that there might be these sacred places where animals go to die, was not unheard of, but it had been thought to be merely the stuff of legends.

The red whale is, in itself, quite a vision, as one of the most elusive species of whales, as it has an immense lung capacity and seldom comes up for air. It was thought to be native to the Atlantic Ocean, but it is now known that, when it reaches a certain age, it separates from its group, swimming towards the southwest Indian Ocean - as it enters its increasingly warm waters, its brown skin becomes lighter and closer to red.

As it approaches its final destination, the whale stops eating, grows weaker and eventually its deteriorated epidermis starts decomposing, leaving behind a trail of floating red skin. Despite this, it never stops swimming, which has earned this species the nickname of “zombie whale“.

Ugh, this category system annoys me everytime.

For a project, A Handful of Wonders - a fully illustrated magazine article. Which included researching and writing the whole thing, and on the day before the deadline, too... Why I do these things to myself, I'll never know.

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