Many secrets are buried in the depths of the sea. Some of these secrets are such that people are surprised and can’t believe them. It also contains some amazing facts related to whale fish, which will surprise you too. Whale is considered one of the largest animals in the world. In such a situation, it is really amazing to think that when such a big fish dies, what happens to its body?
When a whale comes close to dying, it moves towards the deepest underworld to take its last breaths. Scientists call it “Whale Fall”. When a whale’s body dies in the depths of the ocean floor, its body becomes the lifeline for hundreds of thousands of new creatures. Death here is not the end, but a new beginning. There is such a mystery about the death of whale, knowing which you too will get goosebumps.
predicts death
The whale knows in advance that its last hour has come. Sick or old whales move away from the surface, into darkness 1000-3000 meters deep, where sunlight cannot reach. There his breathing stops and his dead body weighing between 30 to 90 tonnes slowly starts falling to the sea floor. The most amazing miracle of nature begins from here. There are four main stages of whale fall:
Mobile Scavenger Stage (first few months to 2 years)
As soon as the corpse falls to the bottom, sharks, big fish and sea birds eat its soft flesh and fat. The carcass of a blue whale contains 50-60 tons of meat, which feeds hundreds of sharks for months.
Enrichment Opportunist Stage (2-5 years)
Now comes the turn of insects. Small creatures like sea earthworms, lobsters and fish eat bacteria growing on bones. These bacteria make energy from sulfur, just like trees on Earth make energy from sunlight.
Sulfophilic stage (up to 10-50 years)
Now only bones remain. The fat present in these is sucked by special types of bacteria and tube worms. Thousands of creatures of 40-50 species grow on one bone. Scientists have counted more than 45,000 insects at one place.
Reef Stage (up to 100 years)
Eventually the bones also dissolve, but a carbonate reef is formed there, like coral reefs. They provide home to small fish and new creatures.
According to researchers at National Geographic and the Smithsonian, a whale fall is as significant in the deep sea as a large tree falling in the forest. There is very little food in the deep sea, so the corpse of one whale sustains thousands of species for 50-100 years. Till now, more than 50 new species have been found only at Whale Fall. The most surprising thing is that many whales deliberately go to die in deep water so that their corpse does not become prey to sharks or orcas and so that more and more creatures can benefit.
