Anette rarely seized the opportunity: – Sad

Last week, Træna municipality posted a picture on Facebook of a dead sperm whale.

– The municipality has asked for assistance from the Coast Guard for removal, the municipality wrote.

When Anette Søttar Herringbotn (35) from Mosjøen saw the post, she and her boyfriend, Sturla Storhaug (41) decided to go on a discovery trip.

– Sturla is very well known in the area. Then it became tempting to go to watch the whale before they removed it, says Herringbotn to Dagbladet.

It was iSandnessjøen who first mentioned the case.

Unique opportunity

It was pure curiosity that made Herringbotn choose to see where the large mammal had been washed ashore.

– It was an opportunity that rarely presents itself. I have never seen such a large animal up close, she says.

The area where the whale lay is a place the couple usually fishes.

– It was a mixture of sad and exciting, it sounds completely grotesque, says Herringbotn.

– Not a fun sight

Although Herringbotn got to experience the unusual sight, she would like the whale to be alive.

– It was not a fun sight. I would love to see it alive, but it’s nature’s way. I dream that one day I will see a live whale too.

Herringbotn describes herself as an inland girl who is used to being in the mountains.

– It is something completely different than what I am used to. Life in the sea fascinates me, and I have not seen anything like it before.

Rotten

Herringboten says that they saw another whale on the other side of the island, but that it was only the head and skeleton left.

– It is very special that there are two dead there in such a short time. We do not know what the whale died of. But the last one we saw did not look very damaged.

The smell it gave off is something Herringboten has never encountered.

– It was an absolutely awful smell. It smelled terribly rotten, I have not smelled such a smell before and it is therefore difficult to describe it. We were not there that long.

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