Part of Clifton beach cordoned off after humpback whale washes ashore

A 9m whale carcass washed up on one of Cape Town’s top tourist beaches on Tuesday.

It is the second humpback carcass to wash up in Cape Town within a month after a similar incident in Sea Point late last year involving a smaller whale.

City of Cape Town marine manager Gregg Oelofse said the carcass on Clifton 4th Beach had been cordoned off and would be disposed of later in the day.

He said carcasses washing up was linked to the high number of humpbacks off the Atlantic seaboard.

“We were aware of it floating last night,” Oelofse told TimesLIVE. “Our focus today is to get it off the beach as soon as we can, probably closer to high tide.

“The area around the whale is cordoned off from the public. We advise people not to swim in the sea when there is a whale stranding.”

Eddie Andrews, the mayoral committee member for the environment, said: "Given the topography of the area, it is impossible to remove the carcass with machinery from land.

"We will need to remove it from the sea with the help of a large vessel at high tide, which is approximately at 4.30pm.

"If all goes as planned, we will tow the whale carcass off the beach to the Oceana Power Boat Club where it will be loaded and taken to the Vissershok landfill."

The 8m whale that washed ashore at Sea Point in December was dragged off the rocks and disposed of at a landfill site.

TimesLIVE