“A blue whale that comes ashore as a whole is not all that rare,” said Lisa Ballance, director of Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute. “But if it comes ashore close enough to a facility that has the capability of doing this kind of project, that is a rare thing. What is special about a blue whale is that blue whales are the largest of the whales, the largest animals to have ever lived on the planet. Larger even than the largest dinosaur. It is an awesome thing to behold.”