A juvenile humpback whale beached itself in Australia on Wednesday, and the unfortunate animal was attacked and killed by a shark before rescuers could save it.
The whale was spotted early in the day at South Broulee beach, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. A young humpback, it had become stranded among the rocks, and beachgoers noted that it appeared to be struggling with an injured fin. Local lifeguards, along with ORRCA - Marine Mammal Rescue and Research Australia - and the Marine Park Authority attempted to organize a rescue, according to Perth Now, but the whale washed back into the sea before they were prepared.
"Twenty minutes later a massive shark came in and just took half of it," Far South Coast surf lifesaving director Andrew Edmunds observed.
The beach was closed for the rest of the day, and the Westpac Lifesaver 3 helicopter was dispatched at about 3 p.m., after reports that a school of sharks was feeding on the whale carcass. Within the hour, it returned to base, having spotted two large sharks.
Two 3.5 metre sharks sighted off Sth Broulee Beach by Lifesaver 3. Beaches closed nearby, no swimmers in danger. pic.twitter.com/8FMiisaV16
— Westpac Life Saver (@Lifesaverhelo) January 7, 2015
— Westpac Life Saver (@Lifesaverhelo) January 7, 2015
"They grow very quickly from birth [3m] to 8-10m within about two years," he said. "This one looks in very poor condition which is very likely the reason it beached. The sharks are just doing what sharks do. They are sometimes called the garbage men of the sea - they help keep the oceans clean by consuming carcasses of dead animals."
Cool! anyone know what sort of shark that is? @abcnewsCanberra: Sharks circle dead whale http://t.co/jZlfQjE076 pic.twitter.com/d8dS5HhSaO"
— Chris Brown (@bluecology) January 7, 2015
— Chris Brown (@bluecology) January 7, 2015
[Images: Alex Coppel via Perth Now]
