Mystery lump on beach mistaken for alien

JOHN BISSET/ The Timaru Herald

CREATURE FROM THE DEEP: Rose Fraser was baffled by this find on Temuka's Browns Beach yesterday. It turned out to be from the top of a sperm whale's head.

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From the briny depths of the South Pacific has come a massive ... something, which has parked itself on the stony shoreline of a Temuka beach.

Rose Fraser was walking along Browns Beach yesterday morning when she spotted the lump of stuff.

"I first saw it from a distance and I thought: 'That's a big white rock on the shore line ... that wasn't there four days ago'." As she got closer to the thing she thought it could be a piece of driftwood – a really big bit of driftwood – but upon reaching it, Miss Fraser's thoughts turned from sea to sky.

"I must admit, I thought: 'Heck, this is an alien'. It looks like it's got big ribs coming out of it, but it looks like they could be tentacles, so I don't know."

Cautiously, and ready to run should the thing suddenly leap into life, Miss Fraser lobbed a rock at it, then prodded it with a stick. Whatever it was, it sat there, not moving. All it did was emit a slight odour.

After Miss Fraser rang The Timaru Herald, a photo of the woolly, stringy object was sent to the Department of Conservation in Wellington, who sent it to Niwa and Te Papa. It was also sent to Otago University's whale experts.

After a flurry of emails a consensus was reached.

It was the top – essentially the stuffing – of a sperm whale's head.

As the blob was soft tissue, compartmentalised and big, it was likely to be the large spermaceti organ and "junk" of a sperm whale, probably male.

Those structures deal with sound beam focusing in sperm whales and related whales and dolphins and were also filled with a straw-coloured oily wax called spermaceti or case oil.

It is not yet known what will happen to the blob of whale.

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Zuxia   #33   10:19 am Nov 01 2009

Japanese whalers threw it overboard as refuse. It isn't meat so it was of no use.

Franklin   #32   07:41 pm Oct 31 2009

What killed thr whale

Chips   #31   05:47 pm Oct 31 2009

Looks like one of my kid's diapers.

Rob   #30   05:00 pm Oct 31 2009

"Am I the only one wondering what happened to the whale?"

Obviously, he lost his head.

Steve   #29   01:57 pm Oct 31 2009

Hugh, You just gave me a good laugh. Thank you. Very clever

Matt   #28   11:45 am Oct 31 2009

Hey MM (previous poster). No, you're not the only one who wonders how this ocean-plying sea creature had its cranium zipped off! Those of us who are conscious of the true nature of Life would be abhorred to learn it may have been decapped by a mere human-controlled metallic craft (without offering any warning of it's apparent "right of way"). What's a life form to do..?!?

JT Thompson   #27   03:46 am Oct 31 2009

What will happen to it?

It will deteriorate or...

Perhaps someone interested in old technology will render it for the case oil

Shawni   #26   03:06 am Oct 31 2009

I'm wondering what happened to the whale too...that is sick...

Bubba   #25   12:40 am Oct 31 2009

Has anyone tried to eat some of it? Cook some up on the BBQ?

Jim   #24   10:24 pm Oct 30 2009

Loved Browns Beach while growing up in Temuka!! I say it can use the added attraction.

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