Mammoth operation under way to remove 31-tonne whale carcass from Perth beach — video
A 13-metre whale that washed up on Perth’s City beach early Monday is prepared for removal after its carcass attracted huge great white sharks to the shoreline. Some of the sharks were estimated to measure up to six metres long. Contractors spent Wednesday preparing the whale for transport with earthmovers, tarpaulins and ropes. The public was asked to keep off the beach during the operation,…
A massive humpback whale that had stranded itself on Perth’s City Beach was finally being extracted from the shoreline on Thursday morning, more than three days after it had washed ashore and drawn crowds, accompanied by circling sharks. A 72-tonne crane, procured by the Town of Cambridge, commenced the laborious process of lifting the 13-metre long, decomposing body around 10am.
The day prior, on Wednesday, contractors had been busy preparing for the whale's removal; however, the excavator allocated for the task proved inadequate for the weighty job. Consequently, the carcass was instead ensnared in a net and dragged a distance of 1.5 kilometres along the coast to the nearby surf club, where it remained overnight.
As the $100,000 operation progressed, a tagged white shark was detected this morning about four kilometres further up the coast in Scarborough. According to the state government's SharkSmart website, the predator was picked up six times between 5:55am and 7:17am, raising concerns about the potential threat posed to beachgoers. Town of Cambridge Mayor Gary Mack announced the plan to bury the whale in landfill, and while he has not ruled out seeking assistance from the state government, he stated that the town was prepared to cover the costs of the whale's disposal.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development had shared underwater footage of two tagged white sharks, one measuring 3.7 metres and the other 3.1 metres, in the area off Floreat and City Beach.
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