A dead whale that washed ashore at a Sunshine Coast beach has been removed.
The animal will be towed 37 kilometres out to sea.
Authorities have taken samples to determine the whale's cause of death.
The 6.7-metre juvenile humpback washed up on the sand between Alexandra Headland and Maroochydore late yesterday afternoon.
An exclusion zone was set up and the animal was left on the beach overnight.
Sunshine Coast Council Mayor Rosanna Natoli said authorities managed to remove the whale at high tide, at about 5:30am today.
A team on the beach wearing hazmat suits shot a flare with a tow rope to a boat waiting about 100 metres offshore.
The boat then connected the rope to its hull, before the people onshore tied the other end of the rope around the whale's tail.
Cr Natoli said the whale displayed no cause of death.
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ABC NewsDead humpback whale tested for bird flu after washing up on beachplain
Brisbane TimesDead whale tested for bird flu after washing up on beach near Brisbaneplain
The West AustralianJuvenile humpback whale washes up dead on Sunshine Coast beachplain
The West AustralianDead humpback whale washes ashore at popular beachplain
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