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Mammoth effort underway to remove whale carcass from Perth beach

Read the original at ABC News (AU) ↗
Cite

Murray, L. (2026, September 30). Mammoth effort underway to remove whale carcass from Perth beach. ABC News (AU). https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-30/whale-carcass-removed-from-perth-city-beach/107211224

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

ABC News (AU) · collected 2026-09-30 · by Lucy Murray

Quick Summary

Machinery is being used to remove a 13-meter humpback whale carcass weighing 31 tonnes from City Beach in Perth. The beach has been closed and guarded by staff who are warning visitors of fines for entering or flying drones over the area, which have interfered with operations. Mayor Gary Mack reported that the cost of removal could reach between $60,000 to $100,000 and expressed concern about safety due to nearby sharks while also addressing disrespectful behavior towards the whale carcass.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

A 13-metre humpback whale carcass washed up on south City Beach in Perth early Monday morning, attracting several great white sharks, including one measuring over 5 metres, prompting authorities to issue multiple shark warnings and close the beach. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development warned that the carcass could continue to attract sharks for weeks. Local surf lifesavers spotted the whale around 7:30 AM, and a helicopter reported seeing five-metre and four-metre white sharks circling near Swanbourne, just south of City Beach by late morning. The Town of Cambridge is managing the removal, which began Wednesday afternoon using heavy machinery, an excavator, and a truck at an estimated cost between $60,000 and $100,000, with disposal planned for Perth tips like Tamala Park or Baldivis.

Written for “Whale Carcass Removal City Beach” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 12 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Whale Carcass Removal City Beach
Environment · 13 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Specialist crews begin ‘gruesome task’ of removing 31-tonne whale carcass from City Beach Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 28 claims Outlet record 61/100
WA news LIVE: Whale carcass to be removed from City Beach today Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 61/100
Removing beached whale carcasses no easy task Same event
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 5 of 23 claims Outlet record 68/100
Breaking: Multiple shark warnings issued as whale carcass washes up on City Beach Same event
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 13 claims Outlet record 68/100
WA news LIVE: Whale carcass to be removed from south City Beach today Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 0 of 4 claims Outlet record 61/100
Council facing hefty bill to remove whale carcass from popular beach Same event
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 0 of 2 claims Outlet record 68/100
Sharks circle as whale carcass washes up on City Beach Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 2 of 10 claims Outlet record 61/100
Whale carcass finally removed from City Beach Same event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 3 of 12 claims Outlet record 61/100
Dead whale finally being removed from Perth beach, four days after washing up Same event
ABC News (AU)
Hedges 1 of 11 claims Outlet record 68/100
More researched urged to get ‘full picture’ on WA’s shark situation Different event
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 0 of 24 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles discuss the removal of a humpback whale carcass from City Beach in Perth, they describe different stages or aspects of the event. Article A focuses on the initial efforts to remove the carcass with machinery being moved onto the beach, while Article B discusses later developments and debates about the response to the whale's presence.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
16
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 16 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
68/100
ABC News (AU)'s corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
13
Environment
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

ABC News (AU) · 4506 article(s) · 10 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 10 correction(s)
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Who wrote this

Lucy Murray
11 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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2026-10-20 · mixed framing · Police believe underworld gang gave gun to 13yo charged over drive-by shooting
🔮 Son Keelan O'Neill urged the crowd to return to the water and "keep doing the things that you love", adding that his father would have wanted everyone to "embrace life to the fullest".
2026-10-11 · assertive framing · Children of shark victim call for return to the ocean at his memorial
🔮 The beach has been completely closed and crowds have been asked to stay away while contractors lift the 31-tonne carcass and transport it to landfill, where it will be buried.
2026-09-30 · assertive framing · Mammoth effort underway to remove whale carcass from Perth beach
🔮 It is possible the carcass will continue to act as an attractant that could lead to sharks coming in close to shore along this stretch of coast," the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) warned.
2026-09-28 · assertive framing · Breaking: Multiple shark warnings issued as whale carcass washes up on City Beach
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Also by Lucy Murray
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2026-10-22 · ABC News (AU)
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2026-10-21 · ABC News (AU)
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2026-10-20 · ABC News (AU)
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2026-10-18 · ABC News (AU)
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 11 articles by Lucy Murray →

Topics

Perth Town of Cambridge

Subjects

Perth GPE · 2× Town of Cambridge GPE · 2× Gary Mack PERSON · 1× Mack PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Most people have been respectful and marvelled at nature in action, but he did call out a person seen on social media to be jumping on the belly of the whale. "That was very unwise, because if that person slipped into the water with those sharks around, that would be very dangerous," he said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 The beach has been completely closed and crowds have been asked to stay away while contractors lift the 31-tonne carcass and transport it to landfill, where it will be buried.
2026-09-30 · ABC News (AU)
Mammoth effort underway to remove whale carcass from Perth beach · assertive framing

Claims (16 extracted, 0 hedged)

Large machinery has been moved onto City Beach in Perth as a mammoth operation gets underway to remove a 13-metre humpback whale carcass. asserted
operation → move → carcass
The beach has been completely closed and crowds have been asked to stay away while contractors lift the 31-tonne carcass and transport it to landfill, where it will be buried. asserted
it → close → landfill
Town of Cambridge staff are guarding every access to the beach and are warning that anyone who enters the sand or flies a drone above workers will be fined $250. asserted
who → guard → 250
The whale washed ashore early Monday morning and several sharks have been seen circling close to shore, including a 5-metre white shark. asserted
sharks → wash → shark
"We also ask people to not fly drones over the area, that has been interfering with the operations, it's very distracting to the workers," Town of Cambridge Mayor Gary Mack said. asserted
Mack → ask → Cambridge
"We've got rangers down there, we've got parks and garden staff down there to help out. asserted
we → get → staff
It's a big operation, we've actually diverted staff away from their normal job down here." asserted
we → divert → job
The beach is expected to remain closed for some time after the whale is removed to ensure there are "no remnants of whale out there". asserted
whale → expect → whale
It is expected to cost ratepayers between $60,000 and $100,000 to remove the carcass. asserted
It → expect → carcass
Hundreds of Perth families have visited the dead whale and spotted sharks swimming in close over the past two days. asserted
sharks → visit → days
Mr Mack saying the dead humpback had "gone viral". asserted
humpback → say → ?
"It's gone around the world. asserted
It → go → world
We have had calls from radio stations and people we have never heard of before," he told reporters on Wednesday. asserted
he → have → Wednesday
Most people have been respectful and marvelled at nature in action, but he did call out a person seen on social media to be jumping on the belly of the whale. "That was very unwise, because if that person slipped into the water with those sharks around, that would be very dangerous," he said. asserted
he → marvel → sharks
"We don't know the structural integrity. asserted
We → know → integrity
And also, it doesn't show respect to the animal. asserted
it → show → animal
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