W H A L E F A L L
Somewhere at sea, a whale dies. It sinks and sinks and sinks and sinks‌ Until it reaches the ocean floor.
From the darkness, the scavengers come. Sharks and crabs and hagfish eat their fill. They tear at the soft flesh and tissue until bone is exposed.
Satisfied, the remaining scavengers flee the half-dissolved corpse. Mollusks find a new home among the leftovers. They burrow into the ground and strip the body bare.
When the bones are clean, bacteria move in. Worms and mussels linger, feeding on the sulfide the bacteria produce. Eventually, only dust remains.
A whale fall will sustain this microcosm for decades, supporting millions of creatures. When the feast has ended, they return to the darkness, awaiting the next cycle. It takes 50 years for a whale to die. It takes another 50 years for that whale to finally be forgotten.
Written and illustrated by Alicia Chen for Image and Story in Fall 2017 at Washington University in St. Louis.