The phone rang a few times before it was picked up.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Is this Ke Shaohui from the fishery department? I'm Zhang Zian. We met once when we were saving the minke whale … "Zhang Zian was worried that the other person had forgotten him, so he introduced himself directly.
"I remember. What's the matter?"
Zhang Zian glanced at the gray whale carcass not far away and explained as quickly and clearly as he could. "I'm sorry to call your private number, but if I call the fishery department's work phone, it'll be too slow … It's like this. Last time, the minke whale was beached a little north of here. An adult gray whale died here."
"Oh? It's already dead? "Ke Shaohui confirmed.
"Yes, I think it's been dead for at least 14 hours. It might have been washed up on the beach last night," Zhang Zian answered.
"Okay, I'll record it down. I'm now dealing with a case of fishing without permission during the closed fishing season. I'll send someone over later. Thank you for calling … "
There was more noise on Ke Shaohui's end. He could hear fishermen arguing with the fishery department staff with a strong local accent.
"No, no, you don't understand." Zhang Zian knew that the other person did not understand the urgency and seriousness of the matter.
He could understand. After all, there had been almost no signs of whales in Binhai City before. The fishery department staff had neither experience nor emergency plans. They were not familiar with the characteristics of whales, and the low efficiency of the government system was well known. It was the same in every country. It would probably take a few years before effective countermeasures could be established.
"Don't hang up yet," he warned in a serious tone. He warned in a serious tone, "Let me tell you, a dead whale stranded on the shore is very dangerous! When whales die, the bacteria in their bodies begin to break down the cells and tissues, decomposing carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and methane. This is the process of decay. But the problem is that the whale's skin is too thick and too strong, and there's too much fat and protein in their bodies. The large amount of gas produced cannot be discharged from the body, and it will continue to accumulate in their bodies. The air pressure will continue to rise, and when the value of the air pressure reaches a critical point … "
"What will happen?" Ke Shaohui asked. The noise on his end was quieter. It seemed that he had moved to another room. Obviously, Zhang Zian's words and tone had caught his attention.
"It will explode."
Zhang Zian was not being an alarmist. It was not uncommon for a whale's body to explode after being stranded.
After most animals died, their carcasses would go through a process of decay, provided that they were not eaten by other scavengers. The process of decay was similar, but the bodies of other animals would not explode after they died. Whales, on the other hand, had too much fat in their bodies. No other animals would have so much fat accumulated in their bodies, and the decomposition of this fat would produce a huge amount of gas.
A few years ago, there was a rumor that a fat man weighing more than 500 pounds in the United States was cremated, and the fat from his corpse ignited a crematorium in Virginia.
The authenticity of this news was unknown, but assuming that it was true, the culprit was not oil, but the methane produced by the decomposition of oil. When the skin melted due to the heat, the high-pressure gas that had accumulated in the body finally found a way to vent. It spewed out with residual oil and caused a fire, not to mention that it contained flammable gas.
If even a 500-pound fatty was so cruel, what would happen to a whale that weighed tens of tons after it died?
There were only three channels in a whale's body that connected to the outside world — the cloaca, the throat, and the blowhole on its back. The gray whale had two blowholes, but there was no essential difference.
When the whale was alive, the whale could control the opening and closing of these channels through its muscles, but when the whale died, its muscles lost control. Under the heavy pressure of the tons of fat, these channels would be sealed, and the gas produced in the body would have nowhere to vent. Coincidentally, the whale's skin was too strong, causing it to become an inflated balloon.
No matter how strong a balloon was, if it was constantly inflated, it would eventually cross the critical point at some point and explode.
If the whale died in the deep sea, this would not be a problem, because sharks and other strange fish with sharp teeth would quickly destroy the integrity of the whale's skin. The gas in the body escaped, and the whale's body could no longer continue to float on the surface of the sea. It would naturally sink into the deep sea, forming a whale fall.
Ke Shaohui roared, ordering everyone on his side to shut up. He then nervously asked Zhang Zian, "Explosion? Are you sure? "
"I'm sure. The explosion is only a matter of time."
Zhang Zian briefly explained to him the cause and process of the whale's explosion. As for the consequences of the explosion …
He glanced at the whale's corpse and found that the group of young people who had just taken pictures did not listen to his warning. They were still gathering near the whale's corpse, and there was even a person who tried to climb onto the whale's body to take a selfie. Their degree of courting death was comparable to that of the Indian brothers. No one knew how high the air pressure in the whale's corpse was, and no one knew how long the whale's skin could last. The weight of a person could be the straw that broke the camel's back.
If the whale's corpse exploded under that person's crotch … Then he could really go to heaven and grab the moon, and he could say goodbye to his balls.
The explosion of a truck tire could seriously injure a person, let alone a whale corpse that was countless times more powerful than a truck tire.
In addition, the group of people a little further away, who had been arguing because of the naughty children, had yet to disperse.
In early 2004, a sperm whale was stranded and died on the coast of Taiwan's Yunlin County. According to local newspapers, there were about 600 onlookers gathered at the scene. They endured the low temperature and cold just to satisfy their curiosity by seeing the whale. It even attracted a large number of vendors who set up stalls at the scene to sell melon seeds, drinks, and snacks …
As a result, the sperm whale exploded in the downtown area on its way to Tainan City for dissection. The scene was as bloody as the scene of a horror movie.
At present, the number of people gathered there was far less than 600, but many people had heard the news and were coming one after another. From time to time, new people curiously ran to the whale's corpse to take pictures. Especially since it was a holiday today, everyone had free time and was happy to come and see the giant whale with their own eyes.
If things continued to develop like this, the scene in 2004 was likely to repeat itself.
The size of this gray whale was not much smaller than that of the sperm whale, and the power of the explosion was bound to be similar.
Zhang Zian took a photo of the scene and sent it to Ke Shaohui. He said, "The most troublesome thing is that there are still a lot of onlookers at the scene. I tried to persuade them to leave, but they didn't listen to anyone."
Ke Shaohui's heavy breathing came from the other side of the phone. He cursed a few times in exasperation and said, "I will rush over as fast as I can. On the way, I will inform the police to maintain order. Please try to persuade everyone to leave the scene!"
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