On the shore of the Caspian Sea in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, many people were baffled by a seemingly old carcass of a sperm whale that lay rotting on the beach. This sight was particularly shocking because sperm whales are not native to the large lake.
The sight of the carcass was very believable not only because of its appearance but also due to the stench that loomed over the crowds that came to observe the sight, yet the dead sperm whale was a fake. This whale carcass was actually a model of the real thing made from detailed molds of actual sperm whales and bucket loads of rotting fish to provide a tear jerking smell. Captain Boomer, the Belgium based organization behind the project, have members who will also dress up like scientists looking for the cause of the whale’s death after setting up the model. Many people that visited the carcass had emotional reactions to seeing the model and stayed for long periods of time.
The carcass model had been on a world-tour with the realistic model of a rotting sperm whale for a decade in order to spread awareness of the effects and dangers of climate change. During the stay in Baku, the UN-backed climate summit COP29 were meeting to come up with a plan for handling the climate crisis. The organization got approval from the Azerbaijani authorities to set up the model with the assistance of a local activist: Adnan Hussein. The intentions of Captain Boomer was to make people ponder their current mindsets about climate change and begin to understand the dangers of climate change.
The sperm whale was a good example of these threats, as it displayed the effects of ocean water slowly warming due to climate change. This phenomenon has changed the sperm whales’ migration pattern because of an effect on their food. This change in migration patterns leads to whales travelling through waters where they are more vulnerable to human activities that could get them killed. The main goal of the organization and model is to get people to begin thinking about what they are going to do to help fix the looming problem.
The sperm whale model will stay in Baku until the conference about climate change is over. Then the model will either return back to Belgium or continue on their trip around the world to spread the mission of Captain Boomer further and help people to change their views.
References
Paddison, Laura. “Why Thousands Are Gathering Around a Rancid ‘Dead Whale’ by the World’s Biggest Lake.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 November 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/11/12/climate/whale-baku-cop29-azerbaijan/index.html.
