A baby whale carcass that threatened to bring a feeding frenzy to the shores of Wollongong has been towed onto land and disposed of.
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A council lifeguard jumped from a jetski to rope in the dead calf after a passer-by spotted it floating in waters about 150m off Flagstaff Hill about 10.30am Tuesday.
The calf, a humpback measuring about 3.9m, was floating a short distance from the city's only year-round patrolled beach, North Beach, which was immediately closed to swimmers, according to a spokeswoman for council.
"As a whale carcass can result in increased shark activity closer to shore, Wollongong City Council has closed North Wollongong Beach for swimming as a precaution ... In addition, we are placing warning signage at neighbouring beaches," the spokeswoman said.
"North Wollongong Beach will remain closed for a minimum of 24 hours, and we will share more information with our community once we're ready to reopen."
Authorities will be keen to avoid a feeding frenzy similar to one that came close to shore back in 2020, when sharks of up to 4m in length spent a prolonged period feasting on the carcass of a whale found on the northern side of Bulli Point.
On Tuesday, a lifeguard used a jet ski to push the whale's body seaward, after it threatened to beach itself on a rock shelf.
With no sharks spotted in the water, a council jet ski operator then jumped in to tie a rope to the carcass, before towing it to a boat ramp at Port Kembla.
ACM's Illawarra Mercury understands the whale was to be buried at Whytes Gully tip.
Laura Wells, a science communicator and volunteer for ORRCA (the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia), said the calf's size indicated it had likely only recently been born.
"[It's death] could be due to a range of things, you can't really tell just by looking at it," she said of the carcass, which had no visible injuries.
"It's just part of the natural cycle really. With all animals you'll have calves or babies that will naturally perish, due to natural selection. We've got so many whales that are migrating past the east coast of Australia. Deceased whales are part of that." .
The whale came to shore during the peak of the annual whale migration, which typically runs northbound from May-June, and southbound from August-November.
NSW National Parks and Wildlife Services advises the whale watching season is getting longer because whale populations are thriving due to conservation efforts in recent years.
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