Two months ago, our well-known fin whale, Ladder, passed away. He was found floating in Cape Cod Bay and later came ashore on the tip of Cape Cod. Although we are still awaiting the results of his necropsy, we do have some good news to share.
Last week, I heard that part of Ladder’s skeleton had washed up on a beach in Truro, MA. Only a fraction of his total vertebrae remained, but I knew I had to attempt to claim a little bit of our favorite fin whale for use in our educational programs. His story needs to be told. With the proper paperwork from the government already in place (it is illegal to possess any part of a marine mammal without a permit), I ventured down to Truro with what might have been mistaken for a serial killer’s tool bag: heavy duty tarps, contractor trash bags, duct tape, rope, protective clothing, disposable gloves and of course a half-dozen large, sharp knives were all loaded up into a utility sled and stowed in the back of my car.
After a 3.5 hour drive, I arrived at the beach. Dragging my sled full of supplies about a half mile down the beach, I found the remains of Ladder. No other footprints marred the smooth beach sand. It was an oddly peaceful moment of solitude in spite of the biting cold temps and 20 knot winds. I took a moment to pay my respects, and then got to work.
I will leave out the gruesome details of the job, but after about 1.5 hours, I had successfully separated 2 of Ladder’s vertebrae from the rest that remained. It was exhausting work, physically and emotionally. Fin whales are the second-largest species of animal on the planet. Their bones are huge, and heavy! I loaded the bones onto my tarp-lined sled, tied up the edges of the tarp, added the rest of the harvesting supplies, and began the very slow trek back to my car. Pulling a nearly 100 pound sled across soft sand for a half mile was grueling. Fortunately, a friend showed up for the last half of the walk, helping me pull the load up and over the mountainous sand dune to the parking lot and eventually into my car. Yes, car. I had anticipated being able to completely wrap the bones in tarps and bags, sealed with duct tape to minimize the odor. Well, that didn’t work out so well, and in hindsight, I should have borrowed a truck.
For now, his bones will rest outside for the winter, letting nature take care of the remaining tissue still attached. I expect that by late spring/early summer, they will be ready to be displayed at our Blue Ocean Discovery Center in Hampton Beach as well as to enhance our outreach programs to schools that involve our life-size inflatable version of Ladder. Sharing the story of Ladder, from his life in the ocean swimming with his pals, to the unfortunate ending of his life is important for all to know. Anthropogenic threats to whales are real and hit close to home when these threats affect whales we know so well. I am oddly happy to have a small piece of Ladder back home with us.
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Your story is bitter sweet! I’m sad for your loss but happy you have part of Ladder to educate the public! New Hampshire is very fortunate to have marine conservation organizations like Blue Ocean Society to bring awareness to all who care!!!
Thank you!
Kristen Paradise
Thank you, Kristen! We appreciate your message and support!
I am so thankful that I was able to see Ladder a few times over the past several years and was so very sad to hear of his demise. The work you all do at Blue Ocean Society for Marine Cinservation is invaluable. Thank you for all you do. See you on board in the spring
Thanks so much for joining us on the whale watches, and for your support! We appreciate your note.
Thank you Jen for closing the loop. It is saddening to hear of the loss of Ladder but it is wonderful that his life can still have such a strong meaning. I am so grateful for your efforts to educate the public on behalf of the entire marine ecosystem.
Thank you, Cheryl!
What you have done in invaluable. Bitter sweet article. Thank you so much
Thank you so much for reading, Joanne!
Hello my dears,
What a very sad shock, !!!to lose my dear friend LADDER, my adopted Whale for many years. He was such a joy to behold, and contrary to general Fin back
solitary travel,often was seen with a Buddy.
I will always remember him,and be so grateful to you, for introducing him to me and for keeping me connected. I shall miss asking my first question on the Boat,” Have you seen Ladder?”
I am in Israel living on the cliffs over the Med..No Whales,
Home in May,Be well and thank you for all you do. to protect other Whales Brenda
Hi Brenda,
Thanks so much for your message. We will all miss Ladder dearly. Enjoy your time in Israel and we look forward to seeing you in the spring!
Dianna
Thank you so much for sharing this adventure to retrieve and memorialize LADDER. You gave us just enough details to know how the burn & sweat would have been in this extreme weather. Would you be willing take and post another picture with something for better size comparison than a house? Maybe your hand or a five gallon bucket? Again thanks so much for sharing what you do. Tim D.
Hi Tim, I will certainly post a better image with something to compare Ladder’s bones! Stay tuned! And thanks for the reply.
I wished I’d known, I would have been happy to help. I have both a pickup and a landscape trail that would been handy to move the bones. I’m retired so I can some time to do projects like this. If there are more bones and you want to try to recover them, let me know.
Hi Bart, Thanks for your message. It was a very last minute trip but I will certainly keep you in mind for future opportunities!
Your effort is much appreciated. I will be anxious to see “ ladder” in whatever form you will have on display.
Thank you, Sarah! We’ll keep you posted!
Words cannot express what I am feeling. Thank you Jen.
Thanks, Sue. This one was all Dianna. Thanks to her!
Wow. thank you for being awesome and doing great work. I did my first whale watch and loved the ladies from BlueOcean Society on board. Trip of a lifetime.
Thank you for your comment and for joining us on a whale watch!
Sad to hear about Ladder’s death but your efforts to bring part of him back ensure that his spirit and life carries on. I do not live in New Hampshire but we were on vacation and went on one of your whale watch cruises from Rye NH. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life as we saw Dolphins, Finback, Humpback, Minke and maybe a Sei whale. Thanks for the trip and information that we learned. We will try to come back soon and I do check your website occasionally. Keep up the great work!