Humpback whale
Humpback whale
A dead humpback whale was discovered washed up on Sandon Beach yesterday.

National Parks and Wildlife Service's Lawrence Orel said the 2.5m humpback whale calf was found around 3km north of the campground at Sandon, and there was no obvious sign of death.

"It's possible that it's just natural attrition, and that's not unexpected given there's around 30,000 humpback whales passing north along the coast on their annual migration at the moment," Mr Orel said.

"Natural attrition is one of the ways the population can maintain their overall genetic health where the weaker or diseased just don't survive, which is just a natural process."

Mr Orel said the scratches and wounds on the calf were most likely from other animals such as sharks

"They perform a function to keep ecosystems clear by disposing or consuming that sort of thing, and it's part of their food chain," he said.

While it is a sad find to see a dead juvenile calf on the beach, Mr Orel said it's not an unusual sight to see a carcass washed ashore.

"It's not that common but not unexpected given we've seen a strong and consistent increase in the size of the humpback whale population overall," he said.

"Just as you'd expect with cattle or sheep, some calves that are born just don't survive, and it helps maintain the genetic health of the heard if the weaker animals don't survive.

"Humpback whale numbers 50 years ago were just a few hundred, and now they're up to 30,000, so from time to time you expect to see the odd calf that has for whatever reason died young and gets washed ashore like this."

Mr Orel said the carcass will remain on the beach and expects that nature will take its course.

During summer months, humpback whales spend their time feeding in Antarctica. They begin their annual migration north in late autumn to their breeding and calving in the warmer tropical waters of the Pacific before returning in spring.

See image here