'We’re constantly surprised': The strange deep-sea creatures that eat whales - BBC

When a whale dies and sinks, its carcass becomes a concentrated island of nutrients on the deep-sea floor, supporting a succession of specialized scavengers and microbes. Strange organisms — from bone-eating worms and bacterial “snot-flowers” to snowboarding scale worms and large rattail fish — colonize these whale falls, sometimes at depths near 4,000 meters, and studies have even found human-derived contaminants can reach these habitats. High-profile rescue efforts like the operation to save Timmy off Germany show active human attempts to prevent some whale deaths, potentially reducing inputs to deep-sea ecosystems, while also increasing public interest in both the lives and deaths of these animals.