Rangers have captured video of dozens of sharks feeding on a whale carcass off the Queensland coast, prompting a warning for people to stay away from stranded or dead animals at sea.
The frenzy involved about 50 tiger sharks scavenging a humpback that died of natural causes and was adrift in the Great Sandy Marine Park off Hervey Bay.
Senior ranger Daniel Clifton said the drone and hand-held video showed the important ecological relationship between sharks and whales.
“The death of one whale, although sad, creates a life source for many other scavenging animals including fish, sharks and other marine life,” he said.
“We’re fortunate here in the Great Sandy Marine Park that we can experience these natural processes first hand.”
The whale is the fifth to die in Wide Bay waters in the past week while the animals undertake their annual migration.
The deaths were a result of conservation success, Clifton said, because rising numbers of migrating whales inevitably meant more would die from natural causes during the journey up the coast.
Clifton said the video was a reminder to people to keep clear of marine animal remains and alert authorities, even in shallow waters.
“Where there are dead whales, there are likely sharks nearby and this vision clearly shows why this is the case,” he said.
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The Queensland parks and wildlife service works with councils and traditional owners on how best to dispose of stranded whale carcasses.
Options include burial in nearby dunes, being towed to mangroves or left where they are to be food for local wildlife.
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