THREE whales that washed ashore on the NSW North Coast on Wednesday (January 5) have been removed and will be sent to be tested to determine the exact species.
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Meanwhile, on the state's south coast, authorities are keeping a close eye on a baby whale carcass which washed up on the shores north of Wollongong.
National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) received a report of three whales at Rocky Beach at around 1pm on Wednesday alerting them to the situation.
"We received a report from ORRCA of three live whales that have washed ashore. We arrived a short time later and the animals were alive at first but they passed away shortly thereafter," NPWS area manager Shane Robinson said.
NPWS worked in conjunction with Port Macquarie-Hastings Council in the safe removal of the whale carcasses from the beach.
They are believed to be beaked whales, a species that are known as being one of the least known groups of mammals due to their deep-sea habitat and low numbers.
Affinity Helicopters were called in to help with sling equipment to assist in the removal of the carcasses.
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At around 5pm the whale carcasses were lifted from the beach by helicopter before being lowered into a truck. A crowd of onlookers gathered to watch the retrieval efforts.
"The carcasses were transferred off the beach and into the back of a truck where they can be taken to a site for further testing and analysis to determine the species," Mr Robinson said.
Down south it was also NPWS that answered the call of a washed up whale.
The neonate sperm whale appeared on a rocky beach at Little Garie in the Royal National Park on Tuesday.
A spokeswoman for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service confirmed the four-metre whale was deceased.
She said they were first alerted around 10:30am on Tuesday with staff subsequently attending the site.
Volunteers from ORCCA (Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia) were also contacted.
"ORCCA volunteers assisted to collect further photographic information and took measurements to assist with research," the NPWS spokeswoman said.
"The whale was washed up dead on the beach and is in a moderately advanced state of decay.
"The carcass is on a remote beach with access only possible on foot in the current conditions."
She said the NPWS would continue to monitor the carcass but no further action would be taken at this stage, given its location.
Here's a flashback to some incredible drone footage of a tiger shark circling around a whale carcass on Fishermans Beach in Port Kembla, near Wollongong, in October last year.
