Three beaked whales have washed up on a Port Macquarie beach in northern New South Wales.
The whales were spotted during the afternoon in shallow water off a rugged, rocky beach and died on the beach a short time later.
National Parks and Wildlife Service area manager Shane Robinson said it was a species rarely seen.
Mr Robinson said it was unclear why they had come so close to shore.
"The animals are in good condition physically, but when we first arrived they were being washed around on the rocks and they would have been impacted and injured as a result of that," he said.
"Whales strand at different points, and there's various theories as to why they do.
Mr Robinson said the specific type of beaked whale was yet to be determined.
"They are more of a deeper water species and the only definitive way to identify them is to remove them from the site and take further samples," he said.
Whale carcasses removed by aerial sling
An operation was launched late in the day to retrieve the whale carcasses.
It is estimated they each weigh around 500-600 kilograms.
Mr Robinson said there was no vehicle access to the beach and even pedestrian access was challenging, so the whales were removed by air and onto the back of a truck.
"We are working with Port Macquarie Hastings Council," he said.
"They are being moved back to a location where the scientists and marine experts can do further analysis of the animals."
