Japan: Decomposing Whale Carcass Discovered on Hokkaido Coastline

A dead humpback whale measuring 8 to 10 metres was discovered washed ashore in Samani Town, Hokkaido, Japan, on May 26. The decomposing carcass will be buried nearby, with residents warned to keep away.

Hong Kong: Massive Whale Carcass Washes Ashore at Sai Kung East Country Park

On January 29, 2026, in Ham Tin Bay, Sai Kung East Country Park, Hong Kong, a video captured a huge whale carcass measuring more than 10 meters long lying on the sandy shore after being carried in by waves. The footage showed the remains already in an advanced state of decomposition, with a strong odor spreading across the area.

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Whale Carcass Removed From Port In Oza - Spain

Maneuvers to remove the stranded whale in the port of Oza, on December 16, 2025, in Oza, A Coruña, Galicia (Spain). The carcass of a 21-meter common whale that appeared stranded in the port of Oza in A Coruña has been removed. Photo by Gustavo de la Paz / Europa Press / ABACAPRESS.COM

INDONESIA-YOGYAKARTA-WHALE SHARK-STRANDED

INDONESIA-YOGYAKARTA-WHALE SHARK-STRANDED

(231110) -- YOGYAKARTA, Nov. 10, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Rescue personnel try to move the carcass of a stranded whale shark at a beach in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 9, 2023. (Photo by Agung Supriyanto/Xinhua)

INDONESIA-YOGYAKARTA-WHALE SHARK-STRANDED

INDONESIA-YOGYAKARTA-WHALE SHARK-STRANDED

(231110) -- YOGYAKARTA, Nov. 10, 2023 (Xinhua) -- Rescue personnel try to move the carcass of a stranded whale shark at a beach in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, Nov. 9, 2023. (Photo by Agung Supriyanto/Xinhua)

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

(230829) -- TEL AVIV, Aug. 29, 2023 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on Aug. 28, 2023 shows the carcass of a 10-meter-long sperm whale on Ga'ash Beach, to the north of Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

(230829) -- TEL AVIV, Aug. 29, 2023 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on Aug. 28, 2023 shows the carcass of a 10-meter-long sperm whale on Ga'ash Beach, to the north of Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

(230829) -- TEL AVIV, Aug. 29, 2023 (Xinhua) -- This aerial photo taken on Aug. 28, 2023 shows the carcass of a 10-meter-long sperm whale on Ga'ash Beach, to the north of Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

(230829) -- TEL AVIV, Aug. 29, 2023 (Xinhua) -- This aerial photo taken on Aug. 28, 2023 shows the carcass of a 10-meter-long sperm whale on Ga'ash Beach, to the north of Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

ISRAEL-TEL AVIV-SPERM WHALE-CARCASS

(230829) -- TEL AVIV, Aug. 29, 2023 (Xinhua) -- This photo taken on Aug. 28, 2023 shows the carcass of a 10-meter-long sperm whale on Ga'ash Beach, to the north of Tel Aviv, Israel. (Photo by Gil Cohen Magen/Xinhua)

Whale in rare sighting in Osaka confirmed dead

An 8-meter-long whale spotted near the mouth of the Yodo River in Osaka earlier this week was confirmed dead Friday, local officials said, after it had remained in the same spot for days and was not observed spouting water. Workers of the Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan in the western Japan city had approached the large mammal by boat to check if it was breathing, while Tsutomu Tamura of the Tokyo-based Institute of Cetacean Research said that the blowhole that the whale would use to breathe had been submerged underwater since Wednesday. The Osaka Ports and Harbors Bureau is expected to discuss how to dispose of the whale's carcass.

Rare whale carcass found in southern Japan island

Rare whale carcass found in southern Japan island

AMAMI, Japan - A man examines the carcass of a male Blainville's beaked whale Jan. 20, 2010 that was washed ashore on Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The 4.4-meter-long whale, usually found in deep waters near the equator, was discovered on Jan. 16.

Whale washed ashore on eastern Japan beach

Whale washed ashore on eastern Japan beach

Photo taken on Sept. 13, 2021, shows a 15-meter-long whale carcass on a beach in Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan. The whale is believed to be a sperm whale.

Whale washed ashore on eastern Japan beach

Whale washed ashore on eastern Japan beach

Photo taken on Sept. 13, 2021, shows a 15-meter-long whale carcass on a beach in Odawara in Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan. The whale is believed to be a sperm whale.

Jaws 2 (1978)

Jaws 2 (1978)

Roy Scheider Characters: Police Chief Martin Brody Film: Jaws 2 (USA 1978) Director: Jeannot Szwarc 16 June 1978 Date: 16 June 1978

Dead whale removed from port in southwestern Japan

Dead whale removed from port in southwestern Japan

A crane lifts the carcass of a sperm whale at a port in the southwestern Japanese town of Kanda, Fukuoka Prefecture, on Oct. 1, 2015. The 16-meter, 33-ton carcass, moored at the port was dismembered and buried. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Whale carcass left at port in southwestern Japan

Whale carcass left at port in southwestern Japan

The carcass of what appears to be a sperm whale is moored for 10 days at a port in the southwestern Japanese town of Kanda on Sept. 26, 2015. The 16-meter decomposing carcass could rupture, but local officials are unable to procure equipment to dispose of it. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

Rare whale carcass found in southern Japan island

Rare whale carcass found in southern Japan island

AMAMI, Japan - A man examines the carcass of a male Blainville's beaked whale Jan. 20, 2010 that was washed ashore on Amami-Oshima Island in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan. The 4.4-meter-long whale, usually found in deep waters near the equator, was discovered on Jan. 16. (Kyodo)

Whale carcass in Yokosuka

Whale carcass in Yokosuka

A six-meter-long humpback whale carcass is seen on May 22, 2019, after being washed ashore on a beach in Yokosuka in Kanagawa Prefecture, eastern Japan. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

New species of baleen whale discovered after 90 yrs

New species of baleen whale discovered after 90 yrs

TOKYO, Japan - The British science journal Nature reported Nov. 20 that Japanese researchers have discovered a new species of baleen whale based on a study of eight whales caught for research whaling in the late 1970s and one carcass collected in 1998, marking the first time in 90 years that a new baleen species has been discovered. Photo, provided by Japan's Fisheries Research Agency, shows a baleen whale lying on a Japanese research whaling vessel in the Solomon Sea in October 1976. (Kyodo)