Race to remove dead whale from popular camping beach as school holidays loom
Authorities are struggling to remove a dead humpback whale from a popular stretch of coastline at Inskip Point, north of Brisbane, before an influx of school holiday-makers arrive next week.
A humpback whale on the beach near Inskip Point, the second such stranding in the area in the past few days. (Image; ABC).
The animal, believed to weigh more than 18 tonnes, is the second to be stranded in the past week after a similar incident south of Hervey Bay.
Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) rangers conducted an inspection of the site, close to the popular camping spot and departure area for Fraser Island, after the animal was discovered by members of the public on Monday.
The ABC reports that Department of Environment and Science say transporting the carcass off the beach would be difficult because of its size and the steep sand dunes surrounding the area. One option would be to tow the animal out to sea and secure it in mangroves in the Sandy Strait.
QPWS ranger-in-charge of the Great Sandy Marine Park John Schwarzrock said the animal was nearly 11 metres long and weighed almost 18 tonnes.
“It’s no mean feat to try and shift it off the beach,” he told the ABC.
“We did actually try and shift it yesterday with local machinery and it worked out to be a little bit harder than we expected.”
Schwarzrock said rangers would attempt to move the animal again. “The plan is to go in again this afternoon with the larger truck — we’ll use an excavator and we’ll hopefully be able to move it,” he said.
“A lot of the whales, if they come up into more remote sections of the Sandy Strait, we’re happy to just let those natural processes take place.
“But in more public places like this where there’s hygiene issues, we’ll relocate this one up into the park where it’s not so public.”
Rainbow Beach local Rob Gough said it was unfortunate to see such a “big beauty” stranded.
“You see them out there in the bay, all majestic, 99 per cent of the time,” he said.
Last week a humpback whale was found off River Heads, south of Hervey Bay.
Mr Schwarzrock said the increase in the whale population meant there would likely be more strandings in future.
“We’re seeing an increase every year and there could be up to 35-40,000 this year migrating along the coast,” he said.
“So really we’ve got to expect with the case in numbers that we’re going to see more and more animals strand or die.”
Olaf Meynecke from the Coastal and Marine Research Centre at Griffith University said the weather was a factor in the standings.
“Calmer conditions are more likely to allow the whales to come to shore if they’re feeling unwell, which increases their chances of washing up,” he said.
