Whale carcass still rotting near Old Perlican
Cook's Cove in Old Perlican has had a slowly-rotting whale floating along the shoreline for the last three months.
The dead mammal was trapped in ice when it was first discovered at the end of March. The ice is now gone, but the whale carcass remains.
Another whale was removed from Outer Cove, near St. John's, just a few weeks ago, after the town criticized government agencies for failing to step in and help.
Cliff Morgan, Deputy Mayor of Old Perlican, says there hasn't been more of an effort to remove the Trinity Bay whale because not as many people visit the remote shoreline.
"We have some people frequent this area, but we don't get I suppose the number of people frequenting this beach that you would in Outer Cove," Morgan told CBC News. "Personally, I would have loved to see something happen a long time ago."
The Whale Release and Strandings Group visited the area at the beginning of April and determined that nothing could be done while the mammal was still stuck in ice.
Director Wayne Ledwell told CBC News that the group doesn't deal with dead whales.
"It's up to the town to take care of the animal or leave it and let nature break it down," Ledwell said. "These things happen and unfortunately nobody owns the whale and nobody's really responsible ... it's just nature."
Morgan said he contacted the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Service NL, but isn't aware of any effort to remove the whale.
"Hopefully if there's nothing done with it ... then Mother Nature will eventually take its course," Morgan said.
Ledwell estimated that it will take the rest of the summer for the marine creature to completely break down naturally. Most of the whale fat appears to have already drifted away, leaving a flat corpse.
"The large bones will break loose because the rest of the carcass is broken down," Ledwell said.
In the meantime, Morgan is cautioning local residents and visitors to stay away from the whale so they don't come in contact with its bacteria.
