Authorities Investigate Shocking Video of Person Standing on Dead Whale South of Sydney
Officials have condemned the “disrespectful and dangerous” act after a person was filmed climbing onto a whale tangled in shark nets off Wollongong.
Australian authorities have launched an investigation after a shocking video surfaced showing a person standing on top of a dead humpback whale off Wombarra Beach, south of Sydney.
The two-year-old whale was first spotted on Tuesday morning floating upside down with its tail and fin caught in shark nets. Choppy seas prevented rescuers from retrieving the eight-metre carcass immediately, leaving it drifting offshore.
Later that afternoon, the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) received reports of someone climbing onto the whale’s body.
“We are surprised to see that footage,” said ORRCA spokesperson Pip Jacobs. “The majority of the local community have been incredibly respectful and sad regarding this whale … however, occasionally we do see behaviour of this type. It is disrespectful.”
Jacobs said the act was illegal under wildlife protection laws and posed serious health and safety risks, including disease transmission, injuries, and attracting sharks.
A young humpback whale has been found dead tangled in shark nets off Wombarra Beach. (ORRCA)
Police Investigation Underway
ORRCA reported the footage to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which has since shared the video with police.
“We are shocked that people would think this is acceptable,” an NPWS spokesperson said. “It is disrespectful and dangerous behaviour. There are diseases and physical risks, as well as penalties for interfering with dead whales.”
Beaches Closed Amid Shark Sightings
The whale has since washed ashore on a rock shelf north of Scarborough Beach, prompting the City of Wollongong Council to close nearby beaches — including Coalcliff, Scarborough, Coledale, Stanwell Park, and Austinmer — after multiple shark sightings, including a white pointer.
“For public safety, we urge residents to stay away from the carcass site and not to enter nearby waters,” the council said. “These animals are significant both environmentally and culturally, and their loss is taken seriously.”
The council is working with specialists to secure and remove the carcass once conditions allow.
The whale has since washed ashore onto a rock shelf north of Scarborough Beach. (Surf Life Saving Illawarra)
Renewed Calls to Scrap Shark Nets
The whale’s death has reignited the debate over shark nets, which are deployed across 51 beaches between Newcastle and Wollongong each spring.
Greens oceans spokesperson Senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the incident proved the nets were cruel and ineffective.
“What further proof do governments need that shark nets do not work?” he said. “They can even attract sharks to beaches where they feed on marine wildlife caught in these barbaric walls of death.”
Authorities say beaches will reopen once it is safe to do so.