Young whale carcass in Australia to be tested for bird flu — ABC News Australia
The carcass of a young whale washed ashore at Dump Beach near the city of Victor Harbor in South Australia. The area around the discovery was cordoned off, and the carcass will be tested for H5 bird flu, ABC News Australia reports.
Result expected to take at least a day
On the morning after the animal was discovered, a report was received by the hotline of the South Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA). Rangers from the Department for Environment and Water responded to the call.
PIRSA said the test result would not be known for at least a day. Visitors were asked to leave the beach after access to the carcass was restricted. The measures are being taken as a precaution, as bird flu is being considered as one of the possible causes of the animal's death.
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The whale species has not yet been identified
Ian Milne, a representative of the Fleurieu Marine Education Centre, said that the animal's species had not yet been formally identified, but in his opinion it could be a young common minke whale. He estimated that the whale was about 3.5 metres long and weighed approximately 180 kilograms.
Milne did not notice any obvious signs of injury on the carcass. He stressed that, apart from bird flu, there are other possible causes of death: due to bad weather, the animal could have become separated from its group or its mother. According to him, dead whales are not seen often in the area, although such cases have occurred before.
