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Dead baby whale removed after washing up on Gold Coast beach

A dead humpback whale calf spotted washed up on a Gold Coast beach has been moved. Read what experts say happened.

A dead humpback whale calf has been removed from a Gold Coast beach after being sited in the early hours of the morning.

Sea World received calls at 1.30am on Sunday about a dead whale found on Northcliffe Beach at Surfers Paradise.

Sea World’s head veterinarian Dr Claire Madden attended the beach at first light to see the condition of the calf.

A dead humpback whale calf on Northcliffe Beach has been moved. Picture: John Lea
A dead humpback whale calf on Northcliffe Beach has been moved. Picture: John Lea

It’s believed the calf had been dead for a couple of days before it washed up on the shore.

Samples have been taken for research.

Sea World spokesman Mitchell Olivey said the animal was believed to have been a stillborn or died at a very young age.

Mr Olivey said there didn’t appear to be any sign of human intervention.

Samples were taken from the dead calf. Picture: John Lea
Samples were taken from the dead calf. Picture: John Lea

Beachgoer John Lea saw the calf around 8am while walking on the sand.

“There didn’t seem to be any injuries,” he said.

He said it looked like its mouth had been blown up or was swelling.

Mr Olivey said as the calf had been dead for a while. It had already started to bloat and build up gas.

The 4.6 metre calf, weighting 1.5 tonnes was removed from the beach. Picture: John Lea
The 4.6 metre calf, weighting 1.5 tonnes was removed from the beach. Picture: John Lea

Gold Coast City council and Sea World worked together to remove the 4.6 metre calf, weighing 1.5 tonnes.

The incident happened just days after Sea World whale rescuers pulled off a successful whale rescue after a humpback became entangled in spanner crab pots off Cape Moreton on Tuesday.

Crews spent six hours searching for the whale from the Gold Coast to Moreton Island before they spotted the young humpback and freed it from the fishing equipment.

Originally published as Dead baby whale removed after washing up on Gold Coast beach

Original URL: https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/gold-coast/dead-baby-whale-removed-after-washing-up-on-gold-coast-beach/news-story/d1db5f60bf39a40307e9af2552e39947