One of Australia’s most famous surfing beaches has been closed after sharks fatally attacked a dolphin just off the coast of Sydney.
Hundreds of swimmers were cleared from the water as the popular Manly and Shelly beaches were closed on Saturday morning, with lifeguards quickly rallied to monitor the ocean for sharks, using jetskis and drones.
Top athletes had been due to descend on the bay in the north of the New South Wales city this weekend for the Manly Surf Open – with the first heats set to take place minutes before the shark alarm went off, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
The event’s general manager Trent Goulding later announced that the competition had been cancelled due to “huge shark activity in a nearby area”.
The ocean was cleared at around 7am after a diver spotted a shark making a beeline for its prey, according to the state rescue service. “The shark just literally swam straight past them and headed for the dolphin,” said Tracey Hare-Boyd, of Surf Life Saving NSW.
Large crowds are reported to have gathered at the edge of the water, and footage showed the wounded bottleneck dolphin struggling to swim before lifeguards and swimmers pulled it onto the beach – where it succumbed to its injuries.
The dolphin’s death will be investigated in a necropsy at Taronga Wildlife Hospital, and experts believe that the bottleneck may have already been wounded prior to the sharks’ arrival.
“There was clear evidence of teeth marks on the animal’s tail which looked like white flesh, which might be aged,” Macquarie University wildlife scientist Vanessa Pirotta told the Herald.
“It’s all part of a natural ecosystem, where if an animal is unwell and an easy target, other animals in the ocean will likely take advantage of that,” Dr Pirotta said,
“A decomposing or unwell animal may draw in sharks”, she continued, adding that the removal of the dolphin lessened the chance of more sharks appearing in the area.
The website Dorsal Watch, which lists shark sightings, cited Surf Life Saving NSW as reporting that three bull sharks – each around eight feet long – were spotted in the bay shortly before 9am.
An eyewitness reported to have travelled 800 km from Maleny in Queensland to snorkel at the bay told ABC News of how she had initially been “delighted” to see a dolphin swimming there on Saturday morning.
“And the next thing … hang on there’s been a shark spotted and we can’t go into the water,” said Ingrid Vonmoltke. “We came back and saw the dolphin was on the beach which was really incredibly sad.”
People have been urged to remain vigilant in the area and the beaches between Shelly and Queenscliff are closed, with people urged to be vigilant on all of Sydney’s northern beaches.
While fatal shark attacks in Sydney are rare, British swimmer Simon Nellist was killed by a great white last February, in the first such incident in 59 years.
