Beetles possibly came to Rottumerplaat island just to feed on whale carcass

The almost five-meter-long whale carcass that washed up on the island of Rottumerplaat in 2020 attracted all kinds of insects. Not just dung flies but possibly also larder beetles that had come to the island especially for the carcass.

Researchers from the Wageningen Marine Research found 129 different types of beetle in the two years the carcass was rotting away. Around 74 of those had not been seen on the island earlier, said Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch infrastructure agency.

The research was reported earlier this week after the testing had been completed. Rijkswaterstaat, Staatsbosbeheer, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Nature decided against getting rid of the dead whale.

Instead, its decomposition process was studied to see which animals and organisms would benefit from it. The animal was pulled a little further onto shore to prevent it from being dragged back into the sea or becoming a danger to ships.

Rijkswaterstaat assigned the researchers to monitor what would happen to the body of the young minke whale. Birds had to be patient. They could only eat when the carcass was completely decomposed. The whale’s skin proved so tough that the crows, magpies, and black-backed gulls were not able to poke holes in it.

According to the researchers, there are six locations where a whale’s body could be left to decompose: the uninhabited sandbank Het Rif, Rottumeroog, Rottumerplaat, de Vliehors (Vlieland), Boschplaat (Terschelling) and Oosterstrand/Balg (Schiermonnikoog). There was also a risk that the dead animal could explode and then begin to stink.

This process was not possible for very heavy whales because they could not be pulled to a place where they could calmly decompose. Dead whales that are of interest to museums or researchers were also excluded from this.