The mystery of whales with a strange smell (6 photos)

The meat of some of the caught gray whales has a very unpleasant “chemical” or “medicinal” odor, reminiscent of phenol. What is the reason?





The meat of these whales is saturated with the smell of an old first aid kit. An explosive mixture of tablets, tar, iodine, wooden sleepers and gouache hits the nose as soon as the remains of the sea giant wash up on the shore. The carcasses of such animals are not even suitable for dog food. Is someone really poisoning whales in the ocean with drugs?

Gray or California whales are imbued with unusual odors. They live in the North Pacific Ocean and regularly travel from Alaska to Kamchatka. It is unlikely that you will distinguish it from other species of whales by its appearance. But you’ll know for sure out of thousands by smelling it!



Part of the gray whale population is distinguished by a pungent phenolic odor. The same as described at the beginning. How many “smelly” waterfowl roam the seas is still unknown. Research is still ongoing. But wait. How did scientists even come to this? Who and why decided to sniff the whale?





The fact is that for the indigenous peoples of the northeast of our country, gray whales still remain an important game animal. Yes, animals are listed in the Red Book. However, local hunters are given special quotas for their catch. It is difficult to live without 15-35 tons of whale meat and fat in the harsh conditions of these regions. It was from whalers that the first information about the strange smell of gray whales began to come. Moreover, according to the locals, the meat of such fragrant animals is not suitable for food either for people or dogs.



It is only allowed to catch whales using “old” methods. No modern guns, just harpoons, ropes and a boat. It sounds barbaric, but this approach does not allow establishing a mass fishery. And this is good.

After numerous analyses, scientists found out that the phenolic smell of whales is due to their diet. This is the only whale that feeds on bottom living creatures. The beast descends and, like a huge ladle, scoops up sea silt. Then the animals filter the catch through thick whiskers along the edges of their mouths, separating the edible small things from the garbage.



Whales often catch polychaetes, or polychaete worms, in which special symbiont bacteria live. During their life, these same bacteria produce an odorous substance - 2,6-dibromophenol. And in phenolic whales the amount of this substance was 300-500 times higher than in normal whales!



In a day, an adult gray whale eats up to 500 kilograms of all sorts of bottom-dwelling things, including, of course, polychaetes. Due to such a diet and a fairly long life - about 40 years - the body accumulates large amounts of 2,6-dibromophenol. Apparently, this substance does not interfere with the life of the grays themselves - underwater you won’t be able to smell your fellow creature! Most likely, the phenolic smell even helps whales survive. It is unlikely that animals are even aware of their unpleasant odor - this only worries whalers and those who then eat whales.

Research on this issue is still underway. It was previously thought that such whales could be poisoned by spills of oil or other human chemicals in the ocean. However, this version is now considered refuted. But why haven’t there been any mentions of such whales before? One can put forward an almost fantastic hypothesis that the sea giants deliberately rearranged their diet in order to cease being a desirable prey for people.