Wilderness - Bathers and beach users are requested to be cautious along the Wilderness coastline due to suspected increased inshore shark activity after a humpback whale washed ashore late on Friday on Wilderness Beach in the Southern Cape, the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) said.

George municipal lifeguards, George Fire and Rescue Services, NSRI Wilderness, South African National Parks rangers (SANParks), SMART (Stranded Marine Animal Rescue Team) members, the South African Police Service, and Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) officers responded to the scene, NSRI spokesman Craig Lambinon said on Saturday.

"Marine authorities, the department of environmental affairs - oceans and coasts, and the SPCA are attending to the situation and municipal authorities are monitoring public beach safety," he said.

African News Agency (ANA)