Arabic version: إغلاق شواطئ سيدني بعد جرف جثة حوت إلى الساحل

According to ABC News, Coogee and Maroubra beaches in Sydney’s east have been closed after a whale carcass, suspected to be a young humpback, was seen floating against the coastline at Lurline Bay. Randwick Council said the closures were a precaution because whale carcasses can attract sharks. The council said both beaches would remain closed until further notice while lifeguards monitored the situation and worked with stakeholders and authorities on removal arrangements.

Randwick Mayor Clare Willington said the council would focus on limiting impacts on swimmers and surfers at nearby beaches. She described the event as a natural occurrence and said nature would deal with the carcass over time. Whale scientist Vanessa Pirotta said sharks would likely be drawn to the area and advised people not to swim there. She said whales commonly pass through at this time and that a larger population meant more individuals were likely to be seen.

While the council identified the animal as a baby, Dr Pirotta said it was more likely a young adult or teenaged humpback whale. The carcass was found with a rope around one of its pectoral fins. Rob Cooley of the La Perouse-based Indigenous ranger group Gamay Rangers said retrieval was difficult because the animal was in a hard-to-access location, ocean conditions limited the use of machinery or vessels, and the carcass was in an advanced state of decomposition. He said cultural advisers would attend for ceremony because humpback whales are a culturally significant totem animal.

The whale is not the first carcass to wash up on Sydney’s coast this year. A juvenile humpback whale calf washed up at Greenhills Beach in Sydney’s Sutherland Shire in July and tested negative for H5N1 bird flu. In April, several beaches in the Royal National Park were closed for days after a carcass that attracted sharks washed up on rocks at Era Beach.