Whale carcass
© John Neaves
Beachwalkers stumbled across a decomposing whale washed up on Southbroom beach this morning.

Madelene Stopforth, (52), of Margate was walking along the beach with her husband when they found across the carcass wedged up between the rocks, about half a kilometre south of Southbroom's main beach.

She described the sight as very gory, as the whale's flesh was peeling off it's massive body.

"The mammal's backbone was sticking out and it's intestines, which were full of gas and looked bubbly, were floating in the water."

She added that the carcass had begun to smell.

Councillor Dave Watson said he had notified the relevant authorities from Ray Nkonyeni Municipality's Law Enforcement department to deal with the matter.

Mike Anderson-Reade of the KwaZulu-Natal Sharks Board said that from the photographs he had seen it looked like a humpback whale. He added that it appeared that the mammal had been dead for some time.

He said that whales do die of natural causes or diseases, and that between four and six carcasses wash up along the KZN coast during the June and November migration period.