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| Pictures of Antarctica |
Flensing a blue whale 1930's - Whales and Whaling pictures 64
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Such images always remind me of Gulliver at the point
where he is tied down by the inhabitants of Lilliput. Fortunately
for Gulliver however, he did not suffer the fate of this great blue
whale. The chief flenser seen on the back of the whale has made the
first cut to remove the blubber blanket - the name given to the great
sheet of fatty tissue that effectively wraps the whale. This serves
as an enormous food store and also insulates the whale against the icy
cold Antarctic seas, unfortunately though, what is so valuable to the
whale is also its downfall as it is also so valuable to man. The precariousness of the chief flensers position can be seen well in this picture as can the thickness of the whale's blubber blanket.
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