Whales also wash ashore on beaches, get stranded and die.
The flesh rot away leaving a skeleton on the beach.
The beaches of Falkland Islands, for example, are littered with whale bones.
Here are five onshore sites where you’ve got the option to find whale bones.
The fossils are between 6 million and 9 million years old.
Two adult whales and a calf.
The fossils at Wadi Al-Hitan portrays vividly the form and life of these whales during their transition.
Many of the whale skeletons are in good condition as they have been well preserved in the rock formations.
Semi-complete skeletons are found in the valley and in some cases, even stomach contents are preserved.
The basin of Wadi Hitan was once submerged in water some 40 to 50 million years ago.
At that time, the so-called Tethys Sea reached far south of the existing Mediterranean.
The skeletons were first discovered here in the early 1800 but were originally misidentified as some huge marine reptile.
It was only later in 1902, that the species were identified as whales.
Maybe a few bones littered around and a ruined building.
The beluga is a medium-size whale that lives primarily in the Arctic.
The heaps of whale bones on the beach is estimated to contain the remains of 550 beluga whales.
The bones were left behind in giant heaps, some of which are more than a thousand years old.
Whale bones found at Echachist.
Photo credit: Jim Darling/Hakai Magazine
