Disposal of a beached whale: an account.

The beaching and disposal of the carcase of a 25t humpback whale was observed in the Strand, South Africa, just before Christmas in 2015. Despite the impending holiday, municipal services needed to dispose of the carcase timeously to prevent a risk to public health. As the beaching of whales in Cape Town occurs not infrequently, a protocol does exist. The carcase was dragged off the rocks and up the beach by bulldozers. After the road was closed, it was loaded on to a low bed trailer parked near the sea wall. As the trailer proved to be too small, it was reloaded on to a larger, replacement trailer. The carcase was then driven to the municipal landfill site at Vissershok for disposal. Background information is provided about the migratory habits of the Humpback whales that brought this specimen to Cape waters in the first place. Whale hunting in False Bay before the international moratorium in 1982 is also described. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]