Scientists suspect that a 55-foot sperm whale spotted off Windward Oahu a few days ago had been dead for several weeks before workers dragged it onto Heeia Kea Pier in Kaneohe on Friday and towed it off in pieces Saturday to a landfill.
Private contractors spent nearly seven hours Saturday ripping apart the badly decomposed adult male carcass until it was small enough to push and pull, ever so slowly, onto a flatbed semitruck for transport. The whale’s tail and other parts traveled to the landfill in a dumpster truck.
"It’s kind of like putting Jell-O in a truck," Josie Yoshitake of Kaimuki said as she watched a bulldozer attempt to rip away pieces from the wobbly carcass.
Kitana Takamura, 11, watched with her twin brother, Dillon, and their dad, Robin. She described the upper portion of the carcass perfectly: "It looks sort of like a rock," she said.
Many flocked to the pier to get a glimpse of the blubbery blob. Adults and kids alike pinched their nostrils and pulled shirts over their faces to ward off the stench, which came off as a mixture of horse droppings and burnt rubber.
"It smells like a really bad trash can," 9-year-old Jada Manley said.
Fishermen first saw the dead mammal floating off Windward Oahu on Wednesday night. The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began monitoring it about 4 to 5 miles off Windward Oahu on Thursday.
The carcass later drifted closer to Mokolii Island (Chinaman’s Hat) and Kualoa Beach Park, prompting officials to close beaches in the area because sharks were spotted making a meal of it.
As a proactive measure to prevent the whale from beaching in the area, officials asked a private contractor to haul it onto the pier Friday evening.
"If we had done the normal procedures — taking the whale 20 miles (offshore) and letting it go — it would simply end up back on shore," DLNR Director William Aila said at the scene. "The current was going to bring it back and then we’d be out of $15,000 for the tow out there, and then we’d have to pay it again, so (we decided) just deal with it one time when we can control the conditions."
Aila said if the whale went aground, it would have been weeks before it could be removed, and the beach would have remained closed during that time because of sharks feeding on it. The estimated cost of Saturday’s job is about $10,000, he said.
Researchers from Hawaii Pacific University’s Whale and Dolphin Stranding Program collected samples from the whale before cleanup commenced. Unfortunately, the cause of death will likely remain a mystery.
"Because of his level of decomposition and (there were) so many parts of him missing when he came in, it’s not something we’re likely to be able to figure out," said Kristi West, who leads HPU’s stranding program. "When he came in, his body cavity was already open, so some of his organs were already gone, and I think sharks had been feeding on him."
West said she collected a genetic sample from the whale to possibly determine what population of sperm whales he was from, which could pinpoint where in the Pacific he lived. Researchers also took a tooth sample to help determine the whale’s age.
"It’s kind of a unique opportunity to get a chance to collect those kinds of samples and try to learn more about Hawaii sperm whales," West said.
The lengthy removal effort drew a revolving crowd from all over the island.
Yoshitake said she was at a nearby cemetery decorating family members’ graves for Halloween when she decided to stop by.
"I go to Maui every year to watch them (whales) so I just wanted to see in relationship to what I see in the water how big it is," she said. "The gross factor is really high, but the size of it — I wanted to see the enormity of it."
Leialoha Hao of Makakilo said her family was out driving when she had an idea.
"We were like, ‘Oh, let’s go take a ride around the island,’ and I was like, ‘Oh, wait, let’s go see the whale carcass in Kaneohe!’" Hao said. "Just for fun, check it out, let the kids see it."
Her daughter, Jada, expressed compassion for the mammal.
"I feel sad because I really like whales, and the shark bit it," Jada said.
Several tourists also stopped by, including Laura Buehler of Sitka, Alaska, who is staying in Waikiki.
"We have a lot of the same humpbacks that come down here, but a sperm whale, I’ve never seen one of those, so I thought, why not come check it out?" Buehler said. "What’s left of the poor thing."
