"Seeing it was great, the smell not so much," Mark Watkins said on Facebook.
Highlights
- Fisherman Mark Watkins from Bunbury chanced upon a strange sight
- Upon close inspection he realized it was the remains of a dead whale
- 'Seeing it was great, the smell not so much,' Mr Watkins said on Facebook
When you're a fisherman, there's a good chance you've seen quite a lot of what the ocean has to offer. But the sight of a certain creature left one fisherman completely perplexed.
Fisherman Mark Watkins from Bunbury chanced upon a strange sight in the water. He first thought it was a boat, then thought it could be a hot air balloon but upon close inspection realized it was the remains of a bloated dead whale, reports
The West Australian.
Mr Watkins, 36, was fishing with father on July 27 when he noticed the whale carcass. He noted that it was bloated because it was full of gas.
"Seeing it was great, the smell not so much," Mr Watkins said on Facebook after posting the picture. Commenter Corey Donohoe had also apparently chanced on the dead whale and shared a picture.
A large carcass such as this would indicate the presence of sharks around it too. And Mr Watkins did notice one.
"We actually did have a 3.5 to 4m white pointer around our boat that day - it seemed more interested in our boat than the whale," he told
The West Australian.
However, by the time the father-son duo reached the shore they realized the whale was missing chunks and wasn't bloated any more. The shark had probably shifted its focus from the boat to the whale.