Crowds gathered at the rock pool in Newport today.

Image: Rob Griffith/AP/Press Association Images

AUSTRALIAN AUTHORITIES are working to remove the carcass of a dead humpback whale which was found washed up in a beach pool at Newport on Sydney’s north shore.

Officials say it is unclear yet what caused the whale’s death and that although a number of injuries can be seen on the remains, these could have been caused after its death. The 12-metre-long whale appears to have been dead for several days.

The beach was closed following the discovery “due to whale carcass & possible increase in shark activity,” according to a sign posted at the beach by the local Pittwater Council. Over 1,000 people have flocked to the beach to see the whale carcass.

The council has removed the metal safety barrier from around the pool in order to make it easier for the tide to pull the carcass back out of the pool at high tide this evening.

However, Peter Hay of the National Parks and Wildlife Service says that it “may take some days” for the carcass to be removed and that the most likely method of successfully getting it out of the pool and off the beach will be for the tide to pull the whale from the pool and deposit it in a more accessible place. Heavy machinery could then be used to remove it.

“Given the high seas running at the moment the option of attaching a line and towing it out to sea where nature will deal with it is unlikely at this stage”, he said in a statement today.

Hay also said that that there are no signs of the whale having been hit by a boat or becoming entangled.

“Unfortunate as it is for this individual it is not unusual for humpbacks to be found stranded like this,” he added.

“With an increasing population of whales we would expect there will be an corresponding increase in those that don’t make the arduous 5000 kilometre journey which may simply be the weaker members succumbing. Normally it all happens at sea and it is only a combination of tides, current and wind that on occasion brings the carcass ashore like we have seen today.”

- Additional reporting by the AFP

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