Coogee and Maroubra beaches are closed today after a whale carcass washed up on the coast.
It is reportedly too difficult to retrieve the young whale due to the sea conditions, the whale's condition and the location.
An Indigenous ranger says it is preferable to let nature takes its course with the carcass.
Coogee and Maroubra beaches in Sydney's east have been closed after a whale carcass, suspected of being a young humpback, was spotted floating against the coastline.
The dead whale was spotted at Lurline Bay this morning.
Randwick Council announced the beaches would be closed to swimmers as a precaution as sharks are often attracted by whale carcasses.
"Maroubra and Coogee Beaches will remain closed until further notice while lifeguards monitor the situation and work with local stakeholders and authorities to arrange the whale's removal," the council published in a social media post.
Randwick Council has closed Maroubra and Coogee beaches as a precaution, over concerns the carcass may attract sharks. ( ABC News: Warwick Ford )
Randwick Mayor Clare Willington said council would focus on limited impact to swimmers and surfers at nearby beaches.
"This is a natural occurrence and in time nature will deal with the carcass," Cr Willington said.
Whale scientist Vanessa Pirotta said sharks would likely be drawn to the area.
"We do expect to see whales pass during this time," she said.
"The population is large and more individuals mean we are likely to see this."
"I would strongly advise not swimming in the area."
While the council identified the whale as a baby, Dr Pirotta said it was likely a young adult or teenaged humpback whale.
The whale carcass was found with a rope around one of its pectoral fins.
Rob Cooley from the La Perouse-based Indigenous ranger group Gamay Rangers said the rope came from attempts to tow the whale out to sea from the Northern Beaches yesterday.
Whale scientist Vanessa Pirotta says the whale is likely a young adult or teenaged humpback whale. ( Supplied: Randwick City Council )
Mr Cooley said the rangers responded to a call-out regarding the whale carcass by the council this morning.
He said it was difficult to retrieve the animal as it was in a hard-to-access area and was in an advanced state of decomposition.
"It's basically falling apart," he said.
Mr Cooley said they would get cultural advisers on site for ceremony, as humpback whales are a culturally significant totem animal.
The whale is not the first to wash up on Sydney's coast this year.
A juvenile humpback whale calf washed up on Greenhills Beach in Sydney's Sutherland Shire in July and was tested for H5N1 bird flu, coming back with a negative result.
Mr Cooley said the whale at Lurline Bay was too decomposed to get a reliable sample for bird flu.
In April several beaches in the Royal National Park were closed for days after a carcass that attracted sharks washed up on the rocks at Era Beach.
Emeritus professor of Marine Ecology at Macquarie University Robert Harcourt told 702 ABC Sydney humpback whale numbers have bounced back to 50,000 in the east coast stock.
He said whale wash-ups would not be as rare as their numbers increased.
"We would expect a number of calves to wash ashore each year and occasionally an adult as well," Professor Harcourt said.
"Most of them drift off to sea … every now and then though, because they are coastal and they come in close to shore, occasionally they're going to run ashore.
"Of course, that brings the sharks in, which is what the council are most concerned about."
