A 52-foot rancid-smelling sperm whale benched on the shore of the Caspian Sea in Azerbaijan has become the center of attention. Several people have gathered to catch a glimpse of the giant marine mammal on the coast of Baku. The reason? There are no sperm whales in this vast body of water, CNN reported.
This 'dead whale' is not real but a 'hyper-realistic model' developed by an organisation named Captain Boomer. Through this effort, the Belgian-based collective of actors, sculptors, and scientists is trying to raise awareness among the masses about global ecological destruction such as the human-caused climate crisis.
The model has been specially crafted using moulds from real whales, while the smell coming out from it is from buckets of rotting fish hidden nearby to add to the illusion.
Since being developed a decade ago, this model whale has toured multiple cities and coasts, including parts of Europe and Australia.
"When we think the story is right, we pop up in a city," Captain Boomer's Bart Van Peel said.
Interestingly, the organisation has now decided to "beach" the whale in Baku for a special cause - several global leaders are gathering in the city for the UN-backed climate summit COP29. They are scheduled to discuss several issues, including how to tackle the escalating climate crisis.
Speaking with CNN, Bart Van Peel said their aim was to play with fact and fiction and to challenge people's beliefs, making them think about the cause. He added the incongruous animal makes people feel "their bond with nature is disturbed".
The journey of this 'whale' from Belgium to Azerbaijan has been a long one. Before Baku, the members of the organisation loaded it onto a truck and drove across multiple cities in Europe, Turkey, and Georgia, before making their final stop in Baku two weeks later.
To install it, they have prior approval from the authorities in Azerbaijan, with help from local activist Adnan Hussein. Now, their plan is to keep it there for the whole of the climate conference. Accompanying this is a street theatre, where the members of the organisation play scientists' roles to try and establish what happened to the 'whale'.
Interestingly, their idea seems to have worked well as thousands of people have gathered to look at it ever since it was installed on Monday, Van Peel said.
He added that many have had "very emotional reactions" to it, while some even stayed there for more than an hour.
