I've noted before how news seems to come in groups. At one point, I seemed to be finding items coming out of Cyprus almost daily. So it is with South Africa. Yesterday, there was an article about a brave man using a really short spear to kill a rogue leopard. Today, we have an item about South African officials celebrating by preparing a traditional culinary delight!
KOMMETJIE BEACH, South Africa (Reuters) – South African officials set fire to a 34-tonne whale carcass on Wednesday, sending white smoke into the air near Cape Town as spectators clambered over blubber-strewn rocks for a closer look.
The dead southern right whale washed up onto the quiet Kommetjie beach, 40 km (25 miles) south of the country's top tourist city nearly two weeks ago.
Officials packed tons of wood and poured 80 litres of a petrol and diesel fuel mix over the decomposing 15 metre (47 foot) whale to spark a fire expected to burn for up to two days.
"The first prize would have been to leave it here to decompose but with residents nearby, and the smell," Robin Adams, operations manager for the Table Mountain National Park, told Reuters that wasn't an option.
"The oil and fat seeping back into the sea was also attracting sharks," he said as a strong wind blew smoke away from adjacent homes.
Mmmm. Sounds tasty.
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