Sharks devour dead baby whale off Cape Solander, NSW, Australia

By Kate Carr

Nov. 14, 2012

A dead baby humpback whale proved the perfect feast for a host of sharks, including two great whites, which were spotted devouring the carcass off Cape Solander in Kamay Botany Bay National Park yesterday afternoon.

Whale watching volunteer Wayne Reynolds said he spotted the two sharks at about 3.30pm after receiving a call about a dead whale.

‘‘We thought the whale might be a sick one. We had been watching, so I went out to see if I could ID it. Then we saw a shark pop up and I thought ‘S..t, that’s a great white’,’’ Mr Reynolds said.

He said he spotted a second great white seconds later, and another volunteer spotted two more sharks — a tiger shark and a bull shark.

The whale carcass was almost up against the rocks, Mr Reynolds said, and the sharks kept circling around it to chew off chunks of blubber.

‘‘They are slowly getting through it,’’ he said.

He said the baby whale was probably one of this year’s calves, and less than 12 months old.

theleader.com.au Photo

Fair Use: Educational