The death of a whale evoked an interesting mix of curiosity, mourning, and the potential spread of disease.

I had heard reports of a dead whale washing up on the beach of Burien, Washington. When I first arrived, yellow caution tape was wrapped around the whale as environmental crews were collecting data from the whale.

The whale was a fin whale and it was most likely hit by a vessel in the open ocean and dragged into the Puget Sound. When the researchers left, they removed the yellow caution tape and people started to walk up and take photos of the whale and touch it. It was fascinating to watch as different people interacted with the whale. Some touched it. Some solemnly stood beside it.

Some laid flowers down in tribute. A little girl climbed up onto the whale near the blowhole. A man reached inside the whale’s mouth and cut out a piece of baleen.

The whale was eventually roped with buoys and floated out to an island to decompose naturally.