Humpback highway toll: Whale calves wash up on K’gari
Two humpback whale calves were found dead washed up on K’gari at the weekend, as migration season was in full swing.
QLD News
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Two humpback whale calves were found dead washed up on K’gari at the weekend.
One of the whales washed up at 7.30am on Saturday, just south of the Cathedrals.
The other, a newborn, was found at Brown Rocks about half an hour later, and appeared to have been badly bitten by a shark.
Soon after the whales were found, rangers were alerted by the public and moved the carcasses off the beach and on to the grass over the dunes.
The Department of Environment, Science and Innovation said the relocation was standard procedure and was done to protect other wildlife.
“When whales are stranded like this, dingoes find and feed on the carcasses and, if they do so in the middle of the beach, they risk being hit by cars,” the department said in a statement.
The department said whale beachings happened often on the island during migration season, as K’gari was in the middle of “humpback highway”.
Originally published as Humpback highway toll: Whale calves wash up on K’gari