{"id":805872,"date":"2026-07-17T10:12:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-17T10:12:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/805872\/"},"modified":"2026-07-17T10:12:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-17T10:12:12","slug":"bird-flu-whale-baby-humpback-whale-that-died-on-sydney-beach-to-be-tested-for-h5n1-bird-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/805872\/","title":{"rendered":"Bird flu whale: Baby humpback whale that died on Sydney beach to be tested for H5N1 bird flu"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A baby humpback whale will be tested for H5N1 bird flu after it washed up and died on a beach in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/topic\/sydney-fp5\" class=\"sc-eRZcwA dNXoqI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sydney<\/a>\u2019s south.<\/p>\n<p>The 4.5-metre male calf was found at Greenhills Beach in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/topic\/sydney-fp5\" class=\"sc-eRZcwA dNXoqI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cronulla<\/a> at 6.30am on Friday.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A baby humpback whale was stranded and died at Greenhills Beach - approx 2km north of Wanda Beach Surf Life Saving Club int he Cronulla region. The calf was believed to be a few days old.\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/37af6b3987906f1ac7be37e70a478b66fefdc08a23b0f375f1975fcefcff2c88.jpeg\"  width=\"100%\"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"_0b53bae146db0b62 _7475dd3391ee1518\" style=\"--text-color:var(--color-text-secondary)\">The 4.5 metre male calf was found at Greenhills Beach in Cronulla at 6.30am on Friday.\u00a0Thomas Hollywood<\/p>\n<p>A member of the public alerted the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia\u00a0(ORRCA).<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/topic\/nature-26ml\" class=\"sc-eRZcwA dNXoqI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">rescue group<\/a> were called to assess the animal alongside the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/australia-news\/nsw\" class=\"sc-eRZcwA dNXoqI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NSW<\/a> National Parks and Wildlife, Gamay Rangers and Sutherland Shire Council.<\/p>\n<p>The responding agencies tried to save the whale but he died shortly after they arrived.<\/p>\n<p>The whale will be removed from the beach and managed in accordance with cultural protocols, in collaboration with the Gamay Rangers.<\/p>\n<p>ORRCA president Ashley Ryan\u00a0said the whale would undergo <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/topic\/health-hq3\" class=\"sc-eRZcwA dNXoqI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">H5N1 avian influenza<\/a> testing as part of standard biosecurity procedures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt this stage, it is not yet known whether a full necropsy will be undertaken,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe cause of the stranding is unknown at this stage. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are many reasons why whales can become stranded, including illness, injury, separation from their mother, navigational challenges or other natural factors. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is too early to determine what led to this particular incident.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nine.com.au\/australia-news\/nsw\" class=\"sc-eRZcwA dNXoqI\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">NSW<\/a> Department of Primary Industries Fisheries and local lifeguards have been notified so appropriate SharkSmart alerts can be implemented as a precaution.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cORRCA thanks the member of the public who reported the whale promptly,\u201d Ryan said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarly reporting provides the best possible opportunity for trained responders to assess an animal and determine the most appropriate course of action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMembers of the public are reminded to keep well away from stranded marine mammals, keep dogs on leads and away from the area, and follow directions from emergency personnel.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Anyone who encounters a stranded, injured or entangled whale, dolphin or seal should immediately contact the ORRCA 24-hour Rescue Hotline on (02) 9415 3333 or NPWS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A baby humpback whale will be tested for H5N1 bird flu after it washed up and died on&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":805873,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[64,63,128,338],"class_list":["post-805872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/805872\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/805873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=805872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=805872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}