Kangaroo Island goanna spotted making a meal of a beached sperm whale

You really never know what you might spot along some of South Australia’s world famous beaches. See the video.

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June 3, 2025 - 3:33PM

SA News

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An opportunistic goanna has been spotted slinking along the sand at a Kangaroo Island beach, indulging in a nice meal of beached pygmy sperm whale.

The abnormal sighting was filmed by Research and Discovery Tours (RAD) KI on Sunday while conducting a coastal survey on the Kangaroo Island shoreline.

The Rosenberg’s goanna can be seen pulling at the skin of the beached pygmy sperm whale, taking little bites from the mammal’s carcass.

Pygmy sperm whales are known to be “deep-diving cetaceans seldom seen near shore”, RAD KI said in a Facebook post.

A goanna has been spotted eating a beached pygmy sperm whale on Kangaroo Island. Picture: RAD KI

“Strandings are infrequent on Kangaroo Island and are heartbreaking to witness, yet each one offers a chance to better understand the biology and health of marine megafauna in southern Australian waters,” the post said.

RAD KI said the Rosenberg’s goanna was an opportunistic animal when it came to its feeding habits.

“They usually consume insects, reptiles, small mammals, and carrion,” they said.

The sperm whale was first reported washed up on the Kangaroo Island shoreline on April 28.

Just days after the beached whale was reported, concerns were raised that whales could be the next marine life in the firing line of the state’s devastating toxic algae bloom.

Kangaroo Island and the Fleurieu Peninsula have been some of the most severely impacted areas by the bloom, hundreds of dead fish, seahorses, and even penguins washing up dead.

RAD KI said if anyone witnesses any “unusual or extraordinary events” along Kangaroo Island’s coastline, particularly involving marine life, to make a report to National Parks and Wildlife Services.