These are pictures of a sperm whale that washed up on the beach in Pegwell Bay, Kent. According to the local paper, he was 13.8 meters long, weighed somewhere between 25 and 30 tons, and is believed to have died of starvation. The locals named him Bruce. It was quite difficult for me to get these pictures because the police weren’t letting anyone get within gawking distance. Then, on the second night, they left him unattended on the mudflats.

The first thing that hit me was the smell: Like a billion wet pennies in a pile of rotting fish. When I first approached the monster I wasn’t aware of the huge chunks they’d already torn out of him—he still looked whole, like he was having a nice nap. But then I saw the way his blubber had been massacred and was overwhelmed with awe. The scale of the thing was unbelievable—I’m 6ft, and couldn’t see over Bruce’s body to talk to my mate.

If you’re wondering why Bruce has big holes all over his side, the only way to get rid of an animal that size is to use chainsaws to cut him into “manageable chunks” so he can be taken to the local landfill. Not the most peaceful end to Bruce’s life, but at least they didn’t

try to blow him up.

This is the inside of Bruce’s mouth.

I have no idea what this is the inside of.

The light’s different in a lot of the pics because I spent the better part of three days with Bruce. The majority of the pictures are from this one night, though, when I followed him across the mud flats as two large diggers struggled to drag his body from the beach to an old hoverport. I guess they didn’t have any of those special “whale-disposal diggers” ready for action down in Pegwell Bay.

JASON PAY