As we reported in 2014, it is possible for a decomposing whale to explode. In fact, the news at the time — about an 80-ton blue whale that had stranded itself on a Canadian beach — went viral, even inspiring a Saturday Night Live sketch with Charlize Theron.

On Farewell Spit in New Zealand, the news the past few days has been devastating. The mass stranding event that saw hundreds of pilot whales beach themselves on this thin stretch of beach this past weekend appears to be over. The second pod of more than 200 individuals that beached themselves in a second stranding event (soon after the first pod of 450 animals stranded), had refloated and were observed 6 miles offshore. Scientists say pilot whales are known for mass strandings. Often, most of the whales are healthy individuals who may strand due to their social bonds with their matriarchal pod, so if a leader gets sick and strands, the rest of the pod appears to follow.

There is a third large pilot whale pod off Farewell Spit, but experts say they think it’s unlikely these individuals will strand themselves. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation is faced with the daunting task of disposing of the 240 or so carcasses that remain on the Golden Bay beach.

The massive whales are rapidly decomposing, and could potentially explode due to the gas that gets trapped in their stomachs like a giant balloon.

"They swell up — there's a lot of bacteria going on in their stomach — and the gut actually comes out of the animal and then blows," Department of Conservation spokesperson Andrew Lamason told Radio New Zealand.

So New Zealand authorities are asking people to stay away from the beach at Farewell Spit.

When we reported on the dead blue whale in 2014, we noted that if you didn’t believe it was possible for a dead whale to explode, you should check with the biologist who was attempting to dissect a sperm whale carcass that washed up on the Faroe Islands when it massively exploded. In fact, says marine biologist Andrew David Thaler, whales usually explode as the result of “people doing stuff to them. That’s one very good reason you should never approach a dead whale carcass.”

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CNN reports that experts from New Zealand's Department of Conservation has been puncturing the whale carcasses to prevent them from exploding.

Various sources took to Twitter to warn the public.