A truck driver transported an unusual load over the weekend—the carcass of an endangered whale.
The whale was first seen on Friday by a Portland whale watching boat. According to NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Jennifer Goebel, “Northern right whales are the rarest and most endangered type of great whales, and are both a federally protected and endangered species.”
According to wmtw, its body was entangled in ropes when it was discovered near Boothbay in Gorham, Maine on Saturday. The carcass was first towed to shore then was later taken to Portland Harbor.
It was trucker Paul Smith who was assigned the job of hauling the carcass from Portland to Gorham. And according to this truck driver, it was an experience unlike any other he’s had in his line of work.
Smith successfully delivered the massive mammal to its destination where researchers and scientists examined it. Nearly a dozen marine agencies are investigating the exact cause of the endangered whale’s death- which they speculate to be entanglement in fishing gear.
The massive haul didn’t leave the semi truck unscathed. It bent posts and left oil that still lingered after pressure washing the vehicle twice.
