He said the body, which he estimated was about two metres long, didn't smell at all. By 8am Waverley Council had moved the body, and in a statement issued on Tuesday morning, the council said Bondi Beach has also been temporarily closed due to the increased risk of shark activity. The council said National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and the Organisation for the Rescue and Research of Cetaceans in Australia (ORRCA) were contacted to help remove it from the beach. A spokeswoman for the NPWS said the carcass was transported to Veolia's Banksmeadow waste transfer station for disposal at 11.30am. A council spokeswoman said a decision was made around midday to keep the beach closed for the remainder of the day "as a precaution", and that they expect it will open again as usual on Wednesday.

The NPWS said the cause of the whale's death was unknown. Bondi Beach has been closed temporarily due to increased risk of shark activity. Credit:Simon Krite Associate Professor Culum Brown, head of the Fish Lab at Macquarie University, said juvenile whales are the "perfect choice" of meal for large sharks. "They will get chomped, there's no doubt about that, and once it’s dead then pretty much anything can have a go at it," Dr Brown said. He said the carcass had to be removed from the beach because sharks, including great whites, tiger sharks and bull sharks would be attracted to the whale even though it was on sand.

"There'll be chemical cues and blood and everything else coming off that dead carcass, especially after a few sharks have had a nibble at it," Dr Brown said. "Previously people have buried carcasses in sand on the beach but actually that doesn't help either because the smell will still leach through the sand into the water anyway." While a whale carcass on the beach increases the possibility of shark activity, the fish behavioural expert said people should not worry about shark attacks. "The reality is there are sharks in the water all the time, that's just the way it is, that's where they live," he said. "Let's keep in mind, over 300 people die from drowning on our beaches every year, and less than one from a shark bite so if something's going to happen to you at the beach, chances are it's not going to have anything to do with a shark."

A spokeswoman from the NSW Department of Primary Industries said five tagged white sharks have been detected at Bondi this year. The DPI's SharkSmart Twitter account advised that one was detected at Bondi at 4.50am on Tuesday morning. Loading Despite the presence of the shark-bitten carcass, it didn't put Mr Krite off a morning surf after he had taken a few photos. "I did have a think about it, but the water looked pretty good, and it happens all the time," he said. "It's just a reminder that we share our ocean."