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Cleaning whale bones is messy business.
We hung a skeleton off our dock to let scavengers and decomposers remove as much of the remaining flesh as possible from a humpback that washed ashore in May 2019
Unfortunately, squatters moved in with the cleaning crew...
A thread.
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We hung a skeleton off our dock to let scavengers and decomposers remove as much of the remaining flesh as possible from a humpback that washed ashore in May 2019
Unfortunately, squatters moved in with the cleaning crew...
A thread.
/1
When skeleton articulator Mike de Roos and crew members Katie Ford and Claire Schiller hauled the bones to the surface months later, they found an amazing array of marine critters had made the whale bones their (temporary) home.
Here's what they found ...
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Here's what they found ...
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A thick layer of mussels, countless barnacles, and strings of seaweed cover both the bones and surrounding net.
But that’s just the beginning.
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But that’s just the beginning.
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Whale bones are prime real estate for encrusting bryozoans.
Many of these “moss animals” take up residence on hard surfaces—their colonies aren’t picky about settling on rock, dock, or bone.
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Many of these “moss animals” take up residence on hard surfaces—their colonies aren’t picky about settling on rock, dock, or bone.
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An isopod strikes a deer-in-the-headlights pose on the dock after falling off a piece of bone.
Don’t worry. Moving again isn’t an issue for this crustacean—its swimming skills mean it won’t take long to find a new dwelling upon its return to the sea.
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Don’t worry. Moving again isn’t an issue for this crustacean—its swimming skills mean it won’t take long to find a new dwelling upon its return to the sea.
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The aptly named mossy chiton is pickier about transport, as it’s more of a crawler than a swimmer.
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Thanks to some impressive attention to detail by the crew, this tiny sea star is plucked from the smorgasbord of mussels and barnacles.
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This pair of California sea cucumbers are less inconspicuous. These finger-sized cukes are still wee baby pickles at this stage.
California sea cucumbers can reach a whopping 50 cm long. That’s two foot-long sub sandwiches put together!
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California sea cucumbers can reach a whopping 50 cm long. That’s two foot-long sub sandwiches put together!
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A crescent gunnel also set up shop on the bones.
This wriggly resident isn’t bothered by the sudden transition to the terrestrial realm—like others in the gunnel family, it can breathe air when out of water and is often found sheltering under rocks in the intertidal.
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This wriggly resident isn’t bothered by the sudden transition to the terrestrial realm—like others in the gunnel family, it can breathe air when out of water and is often found sheltering under rocks in the intertidal.
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A shapeless, colourless lump might not immediately catch your eye, but look closely at a brooding transparent tunicate and you may spot some tunicates-to-be tucked away safely inside its brooding chamber!
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Dock shrimp spend a brief period of time on their namesake. They’re regulars under and around docks and pilings, and our Pruth Bay structure is no exception.
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A pygmy rock crab and green urchin join a plethora of worms on an intervertebral disc plate (yes, that’s the cross-section of a humpback whale’s spine!).
The crab’s impatient with the photoshoot.
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The crab’s impatient with the photoshoot.
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The team catches the pygmy rock crab for a close-up.
This crab’s stomach is likely full given the veritable buffet of barnacles, worms, mussels, and more on the bones.
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This crab’s stomach is likely full given the veritable buffet of barnacles, worms, mussels, and more on the bones.
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And the worms! All shapes, sizes, and colours of worm wriggle out from under and between the collection of bones.
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Meanwhile, back in the water there’s some organic debris fallout as the goods were lifted from the ocean and cleaned.
A school of shiner perch appears on the scene to make quick work of the sudden feast.
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A school of shiner perch appears on the scene to make quick work of the sudden feast.
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After a whole lot of additional elbow grease from the crew, the bones were packaged up and barged south to Salt Spring Island for the next stage in their long cleaning saga—a full degreasing.
We're filming that too, so stay tuned!
/16 Fin.
We're filming that too, so stay tuned!
/16 Fin.
