In May 2014, two blue whale carcasses washed up on the beaches of Trout River and Rocky Harbour. They were incredibly big, indescribably smelly, and unbelievably rare. These two, in fact, were part of nine that had died in the ice that spring, a real tragedy which made global headlines. There are only 250 estimated in the North Atlantic, perhaps 20,000 worldwide.

For the full article and more photos, pick up The Newfoundland Quarterly’s Summer print edition. On sale in Broken Books, Johnny Ruth, Chapters, The Travel Bug, Afterwords, and other retailers across the province. Newfoundland Quarterly: Summer 2017, The Trout River Blue Whale.

Photo © Royal Ontario Museum, ROM Exhibition, 2017.