A humpback whale has died after it became beached on a sand bank in shallow water at Port Kennedy in Perth’s southern suburbs.
The nine-metre-long mammal attracted a crowd of onlookers yesterday as staff from the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) liaised with vets to assess its condition.
It was believed it had suffered internal injuries.
The humpback whale stranded itself in shallow waters in the Port Kennedy marine park. (Facebook: Parks and Wildlife Service, Western Australia)
DBCA said the whale died overnight, with veterinarians from Perth Zoo due to attend the site this morning to collect biological samples from the carcass to learn more about its condition.
The carcass is expected to be removed from the beach later today.
A shark alert for the area is still in place and Port Kennedy Beach remains closed to the public until further notice.
DBCA said yesterday the whale was likely to attract sharks to the area.
Veterinarians from Perth Zoo will collect samples from the whale to learn more about its condition. (Supplied: Danielle Barrett )
Hopes of saving the mammal faded quickly yesterday, with DBCA staff liaising with vets to “determine the most appropriate course of action”.
Incident controller Benson Todd said the whale had likely suffered internal injuries from getting beached.
Onlookers gathered at the scene of the beaching yesterday. (ABC News: Blake Kagi)
“Unfortunately, the prognosis for the whale isn’t good,” he said yesterday.
“The team are doing at the moment is to just prepare some sedatives to make that whale more comfortable.”
The whale attracted a crowd. (Supplied: Danielle Barrett )