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TMZ.com
Some ovations defy explanation — like this crowd on the beach in Venice, Florida watching the gruesome removal of a beached sperm whale, yet erupting in cheers … all captured on video.
Check out the new footage we obtained showing the massive whale’s body being mutilated by an excavator — definitely not for the faint of heart or stomach — but a group of beachgoers found reason to hoot, holler and celebrate the process.
The removal was coordinated earlier this week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — also known as NOAA — along with a local marine lab.
The beached whale was first spotted Sunday evening, and reportedly still alive before dying the next morning, when officials quickly attempted to move the decaying corpse.
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This video gives you a closer look at the initial attempt to move the massive mammal, as several onlookers record the scene.
Not surprisingly, some locals were disturbed by the crowd’s reaction, and a rep for PETA tells TMZ … “With the planet’s oceans being trawled barren, the death of any aquatic animal is a high-stakes tragedy, and PETA urges everyone upset at the sight of this beached whale to throw all sealife a lifeline by going vegan.”
However, as graphic as the removal is, PETA has no issue with NOAA’s process … telling us it’s “standard operating procedure.”
The city of Venice was forced to issue a no-swim advisory at the beach due to the carcass — which might be one reason for the cheers.
Researchers cut into the whale’s corpse on Monday, causing blood to leak into the water. Translation: the bloody scene could’ve attracted sharks to shore, endangering swimmers.
BTW, this whale tale has some history … namely, the story of the sperm whale that washed ashore in Florence, OR — which got blown to smithereens at the time, in gruesome fashion.
That was jarring then, and this is just as jarring now. No matter the motivation behind the cheers … it’s brutal to see.