Australia : Monster whale washes up on beach



The carcass of a 8-metre-long sperm whale has washed up on a Sydney beach,

Such an occurrence is rare, as sperm whales are deep-sea animals.

How the 20,000kg whale was killed has yet to be determined.

However, there were huge roles on its body, which great white or tiger sharks could have caused.

"I have never seen a full-grown sperm whale on a Sydney Beach, and I have been in this job nearly 20 years," said Geoff Ross from the NPSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

"You do find calf carcasses every now and then but it's very rare to see a big adult sperm whale come ashore."

The whale is posing a threat to beachgoers as the oil oozing out from it is attracting sharks.

Ross said that removing the whale would be an uphill task.

"The difficulty is that usually we tow it back out to sea, but this particular animal has no tail," Ross told AAP.

"Sperm whales are really oily creatures ... so you have a hard time keeping ropes on a carcass. So when sharks come along and chew it all off, it makes it bloody hard."

The whale will be cut up and taken to local waste facilities.

NPWS has closed Newport Beach while authorities struggle to clean up the mess.

The beach will remain closed for at least a week after the job is done.

Source: The Age Australia