When a whale washes up on the banks of the River Seine in Paris, people take notice.
That was the case this past weekend when a 50-foot-long beached sperm whale surrounded by caution tape and scientists grabbed the attention of tourists passing through the City of Light.
However, according to Quartz, the realistic whale and the forensic scientists surrounding it were completely fake.
The whale was really just an impressive art display, while the scientists were actually actors.
The exhibition was the work of a group of Belgian artists known as the Captain Boomer Collective and is meant to raise awareness about human impact on the environment, specifically whale habitats.
Still, tourists would be forgiven for mistaking the display for a real-life scenario.
"The audience witnesses a scientific intervention. Autopsy, sampling, dissection, etc are acted out in detail. We also show people parasites, teeth and samples of skin and (real) spermaceti oil," Captain Boomer states on its website.
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The incredible attention to detail and apparent response to the deceased whale was enough to even fool some local residents.
"It makes me very sad because for an animal like this to leave the Atlantic to end up here means that there is a problem. What's the problem? Is it our fault us humans that animals die like this? I don't know. I think it might be our fault as well," Parisian Anastasia told the Mirror.
"It's really sad to see. It seems to be not just here though, it's happening all over," a British tourist told the publication.
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The collective has also staged whale beachings in other popular tourist destinations, including London, England; Valencia, Spain; Antwerp, Belgium and Duisburg, Germany, according to its website.
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