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Culture: Television: Documentary
A whale in the Serengeti   (+10)  [vote for, against]

I've just been watching a documentary where David Attenborough watches a dead whale lying on the bottom of the ocean for a year. (Actually, I suspect he didn't personally watch it, but there was lots of footage of it.) Over the course of the year, various animals from sharks to worms turn up to feast on the carcass, and then on its bones. The whale becomes a little oasis of life. Some species have only ever been found on whale carcasses.

So, here's my proposal. Next time we get a dead whale washed up somewhere, take it to the middle of the Serengeti and film it for a year or so. Would big cats turn up, or would they be completely freaked out? Would vultures know what to do with it? (Yes, they probably would.) How about the local insect population?

As far as I am aware, nobody has filmed a whale in the Serengeti for a whole year. It would make for an intriguing documentary.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 12 2019

https://www.indepen...sland-a8796016.html It was you Max, wasn't it? Come clean. You'll feel better. [xenzag, Mar 12 2019]

Film xenzag was referring to. https://www.youtube...fnvCg3WdjYzW7gi2CSl
[doctorremulac3, Jul 03 2022]

What Happens to Pile of Fish Left in the Woods? (Trail Camera) https://www.youtube...watch?v=eKnCD_QWCWY
[Voice, Mar 05 2023]

You should watch the film "A Zed and Two Noughts" by Peter Greenaway. [+]
-- xenzag, Mar 12 2019


You beat me to the punch with that link by about .08 of a second [xen]
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Mar 12 2019


Re. the link: "Researchers said there were no clear reasons why the animal died" well, have they considered being dumped on the land as a possible cause of death?
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Mar 12 2019


If you get funding for that I'd like to be the person in charge of logistics. The arrangement of such to start the documentary would make for an entertaining beginning. You'd have a camera crew filming the person taking the order.

"Hello, and thank you for calling Air-Freight International. I'll need the size, weight, origin and destination of the shipment as well as a brief description of the composition of the materials to be shipped. Uh huh... OK. These are... toy whales? One whale. For an amusement park or something? A real whale? Oh, going to a marine park? The Serengeti? Is that a marine park? Oh, the desert. You're taking a whale to the desert. Won't it die? Oh, it's already dead...OK, let me get this straight..."

Assuming you didn't use an aircraft and deliver it "Oh no, not again!" style, the looks on the faces of people as you drove by with this thing on a massive, very massive, truck would be entertaining as well. The job of getting it there might make for good doc too.

[+]
-- doctorremulac3, Mar 12 2019


Max - you should also find and watch The Werckmeister Harmonies, the year 2000 Hungarian drama mystery film directed by Béla Tarr. It's a brilliant film but I won't reveal the connection with this idea. You'll have to find that by watching it. That's two excellent films for you to thank me for bringing to your attention
-- xenzag, Mar 13 2019


This would generate millions of views. I'd watch it, you'd watch it. There are some logistical issues but as mentioned, that would be the best part of the documentary.

Please review and bun as necessary.
-- doctorremulac3, Feb 13 2020


//As far as I am aware, nobody has filmed a whale in the Serengeti for a whole year.//

I did once, but it wasn't whale and it wasn't in the Serengeti. I also didn't film it.

It was for a whole year though.
-- doctorremulac3, Dec 15 2021


I'm gonna resurrect an idea of Max's from time to time. There's enough brilliant material in his catalog to last a long time.

Notice the HB's been a little dark lately what with the passing of Farmer John n such. Here's one of Max's best that you can enjoy and bun if you haven't already.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 03 2022


In Peter Greenaway's film A Zed and Two Noughts several large animals feature as timelapsed total decompositions. It's a brilliant film by the highly creative Greenaway. Meanwhile, I imagine the dead whale wouldn't last too long as a feeding frenzy ensued but the balance of an entire eco system may be disturbed, so perhaps it not such a great idea after all.
-- xenzag, Jul 03 2022


I don't know, is dropping food in an eco system detrimental? If I were a lion or a hyena I'd be happy to get a one time multi ton treat. Could make them fat I guess. I wouldn't make it a regular thing though.

Put up a link to your film.
-- doctorremulac3, Jul 03 2022


On this somber day, kinda nice to go back and reminisce about some of our old buddies and their wacky ideas. This one was always a favorite of mine.
-- doctorremulac3, Sep 11 2022



random, halfbakery