Video: watson/nico bernasconi
19.08.2024, 13:1819.08.2024, 15:00
Blood spurts from the mouth of a stranded sperm whale as two men in research suits remove the animal’s tooth. In order to find out where the whale comes from, it is necessary to analyze what the animal last ate, they say.
The stage is set for a great spectacle on the promenade at Zurich’s Utoquai. Image: watson
This spectacle took place on Monday morning on the promenade near Zurich’s Utoquai.
A stranded sperm whale, about 16 meters long, lies on the ground. It smells of rotting fish. The audience witnesses scientific interventions: tissue sampling, forensic dentistry, autopsy.
The investigation is documented in detail.Image: watson
Other scientists are rowing on the lake, fearing that there is another whale in the waters. Because a whale rarely comes alone.
People wearing protective suits looking for a second whale.Image: watson
Passers-by take photos of the investigation and want to know what happened. “The most likely thing is that the whale came from the North Sea via the Rhine, the Aare and the Limmat into Lake Zurich,” says a man in a protective suit.
Some are astonished.
“Wow, he really does come from the North Sea.” “He must have come here because of the large amounts of water,” a passerby suspects.
It is quite possible that these were instructed actors.
Because: The whale is actually just a dummy.
Admittedly, at first glance the whale carcass looks deceptively real.Image: keystone
The Belgian artist collective Captain Boomer, in collaboration with the Swiss marine conservation organization KYMA sea conversation & research and the Zurich Theater Spektakel, stranded the sperm whale on Lake Zurich.
Captain Boomer has often caused questions with stranded whales, on the Seine in Paris, on the motorway in Bremen. They install the plastic art installations under cover of darkness and try to deceive the crowds with creative stories.
A man analyses the teeth of the sperm whale.Image: keystone
But there is more to the campaign than just fun. Together, they want to raise awareness of the dangers that whales face. It is not uncommon for the animals to become stranded on sea coasts due to pollution, collisions with cargo ships or a lack of food sources.
Campaign to raise environmental awareness
The Swiss marine conservation organisation KYMA also sees Switzerland as having a responsibility. “From our point of view, the installation is primarily a symbolic demonstration of the fact that Switzerland must make its contribution to protecting the oceans – because despite filter systems, some of our wastewater, our microplastics and our chemicals end up in the sea and we import and consume marine animals,” says Dr. Silvia Frey from KYMA sea conservation & research.
Switzerland is also home to the world’s largest container shipping company, which transports its goods across the world’s oceans on cargo ships. “All of this causes massive damage to the marine world. Tragedies are not always triggered exactly where they ultimately occur,” says Frey.
The production will remain on the shores of Zurich’s lake until Wednesday evening – complete with Captain Boomer’s “scientific investigators”, who will pretend that the whale is real.
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