TheGreat Salt Lake whale hoax is a 19th-centuryUtahhoax andurban legend, which has appeared in various accounts over time. The story centers around a supposed attempt by a British scientist, James Wickham, to introduce whales into theGreat Salt Lake with the intention of starting awhale oil industry.
The story was first reported in 1888 when theSalt Lake Herald-Republican reprinted an article originally published in aCanadian newspaper. The article claimed that British scientist and entrepreneur James Wickham had introduced two whales into the Great Salt Lake in 1875, with the goal of establishing a whale oil industry in Utah.[1]
According to the article, Wickham captured the whales nearAustralia and transported them fromSan Francisco,California, to Utah by train in specially designed tanks filled with seawater. Upon their release into the lake, the whales reportedly broke free from a fenced enclosure and disappeared into deeper waters. The story also claimed that years later, an agent in contact with Wickham reported seeing the whales and their offspring "spouting and playing" in the lake.[1]
Further reports from theJefferson County Sentinel, anOhio-based newspaper, in May 1888 added more detail to the hoax. One article included a letter from aCleveland, Ohio, resident humorously asking whether a permit fromthe Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members constituted a majority of Utah's population at the time, would be required to begin a whaling industry in the Great Salt Lake. The letter recounted Wickham's experiment, stating that the whales had grown significantly since their release and had produced offspring.[2]
In 1890, theUtah Daily Enquirer, a (now-defunct) newspaper fromProvo, published an account marking the 15th anniversary of the alleged introduction of the whales. The report stated that the whales had grown to 60 feet (18 m) in length and produced offspring.[3] TheEnquirer portrayed Wickham's experiment as a success, despite the unlikely nature of the claims.[4]
The story of whales thriving in the Great Salt Lake was met with skepticism, largely due to the lake's highsalinity (between 1.5 and 8 times saltier than seawater) and shallow depth (average 16 ft (5 m), deepest 46 ft (14 m)), which are unsuitable environments for largemarine mammals.[1] Despite this, the legend endured in various retellings. TheDeseret News and other sources debunked the story, pointing out factual errors, such as the claim that whales lay eggs—an impossibility given that whales are placental mammals.[3][5]
Some media outlets, such as theJefferson County Sentinel, added humorous embellishments, suggesting that the whales could be used to powerferry boats across the lake.[2] TheUtah Historical Quarterly also highlighted that the claims of Wickham's experiment were exaggerated, portraying them as a product of the creative imagination of the time, meant more for entertainment than factual reporting.[4]
In 2019, artists Christine Baczek and David Hyams featured the story in their exhibit "Whale of a Tale" at the Rio Gallery inSalt Lake City. The exhibit included historical-style photographs (tintypes) depicting fictional scenes of the whales being transported to the Great Salt Lake.[6] In 2021, Professor Justin Diggle created a print,A Whale from the Great Salt Lake, Utah, for the imPRESSions Open Printmaking Biennial. The print is a collage of photographs taken aroundAntelope Island, depicting the whale myth.[7]
In July 2023, the shortmockumentary filmUtah Blues: Whales in the Great Salt Lake released. It retold the story as if it were fact, with some additions, such as specifying the species asBlue whales, and included purported eyewitness accounts and an expedition to find the whales in the present day.[8][9] In August 2023, the independent short filmWhales of the High Desert, directed by Joseph LeBaron, was released. It focuses on the origins and continuation of the whale legend, based on an interview with Dr. Lynne McNeill, a folklore specialist atUtah State University. The film also addresses environmental concerns related to the Great Salt Lake. Produced in collaboration with FRIENDS of Great Salt Lake, the film was an Official Selection of the Utah International Film Festival, with plans for distribution onPBS in the fall of 2024.[10][11]