News & Politics - Beached Whale On Cape Cod Has Gigantic Swollen Tongue

Uh Blah · 05-22-2009, 10:05 AM

Beached Whale On Cape Has Gigantic Swollen Tongue - wbztv.com

Marine biologists are trying to figure out why an endangered finback whale washed up on a Provincetown, MA beach and died.

It was found on Herring Cove Beach Thursday afternoon.

What really stands out is the whale's swollen tongue, which looks like a giant balloon sticking out of its mouth.

http://llnw.image.cbslocal.com/28/20...0/whalePIX.jpg

The image is a bit disturbing, so I felt it best to use the link and not post the image directly.

**vc318** · 05-22-2009, 08:05 PM

^ Thanks for not posting that image.

I don't even want to imagine what that must look like. Sheesh, I wonder what could've caused the whale to die with a swollen tongue like that as well.

**sunnykerr** · 05-25-2009, 07:46 PM

Let me add my thanks for editing yourself. The idea of a beached whale is a sad and disturbing enough in and of itself, I really don't think I could handle the image of it.

**Callace** · 05-26-2009, 02:33 AM

that sounds both creey and kind of yucky. I'm sad it happened, but I dont really wanna see it.

Uh Blah · 05-27-2009, 07:07 AM

Well it's not so much the dead whale that's disturbing, but the giant balloon of a tongue sticking out of it's mouth.

**TheAngel** · 05-27-2009, 10:40 AM

Yeah, I looked at the picture (strong stomach but it's still disturbing). I've never seen anything like that in my life and I'll be really interested to see what scientists decide cause it. It really reminds me of an allergic reaction, not that peoples' tongues swell that large, but the whole swollen tongue thing. It will be quite fascinating to see whether there's an environmental or biological cause.

**sunnykerr** · 05-27-2009, 07:07 PM

Okay, I caved and watched the stupid picture. That it easily the most freaking gross thing I've seen in my life.

I didn't even realize that's what it was at first, and then it hit me. Gah.

**wanderer78** · 05-28-2009, 12:02 AM

This sounds like it might be an environmental thing to me as well.

**sunnykerr** · 05-28-2009, 05:55 PM

It's hard to imagine that it didn't have anything to do with the whale beaching itself (so to speak), but I wonder...

**Callace** · 05-29-2009, 02:48 AM

Yeah, I still havent found the nerve to watch the picture, but beaching couldnt have been healthy to the poor whale either. If it had that swollen tongue out in the sea, it is however easy to imagine that it could have been in so much pain that it didnt manage to keep direction of it's swimming.

**sunnykerr** · 05-29-2009, 07:16 PM

Considering what we know about the heavy levels of oceanic pollution... It's not very hard to imagine where the tongue got swollen, though.

**Callace** · 05-30-2009, 02:29 AM

Yeah

Poor whale

**strawberrypie** · 06-11-2009, 06:06 PM

I don't have the stomach to look at the image.

And even though I'm all for humans taking responsibility for the damages we're causing to our environment (I'm about to graduate on Environmental Sciences after all), I do have to say objectively that it could be anything that caused it. I'd say there's a big possibility there's a biological/medical reason. Has there been more on this?

**sunnykerr** · 06-11-2009, 08:25 PM

I don't know... I haven't heard anything else myself.

And, objectively, it's true that humans could not have been a factor. And I don't want to make it seem like you have to watch that picture because, seriously, if you're even a bit unsure... don't!

I just think that there's something profoundly unnatural about a tongue swelling that dramatically.

Uh Blah · 06-12-2009, 06:44 AM

In the latest Cape Cod news is the story of the yellow lobster, Fiona

Rare yellow lobster avoids boiling pot - CNN.com