As it transpired, the whale was actually a life-size fibreglass dummy built by a group of Belgian artists. One of the group, Bart Van Peel, told the paper that the model was on its way home to the Netherlands from an exhibition in Spain. It had been touring Europe as a way of raising awareness about the plight of sperm whales. "I'm sorry it surprised people on the road. Usually we completely cover it over," he said.