Whales that end up on Australia's beaches are typically buried on land due to fears that carcasses will wash back in — and bring sharks with them.
When whales strand or wash up dead on Australia's beaches , authorities are left with a colossal mess to clean up. Typically the solution is to truck their hulking carcasses away and bury them. It's costly and laborious work, as West Australian authorities found in December when a sperm whale weighing more than 30 tonnes died on a sandbar south of Perth. But it also robs the ocean of valuable food for sharks, sea birds and other creatures.
In the first few days, wind was the main thing driving its drift, given the whale was still bloated and protruding from the water. But after that, decomposition, the release of gas and predation by sharks left the carcass lower in the water and the current took over as the primary driver. Meynecke says authorities worldwide have been reluctant to opt for sea disposal as experience has shown that remains can wash back in again, often bringing hungry sharks.
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