Watch your step! Lava-like blood bubbles up over burial of whale carcass on Australian beach

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Beachgoers got the shock of their lives after a lava-like flow of blood bubbled up out of the sand from the grave of a dead whale on Wurtulla Beach.

The video, taken by local resident Adam Ellis, shows the sand volcano bubbling up and the whale's blood oozing out.

'I didn't expect to see what I saw' Ellis said.   

Whale blood oozes out of sand volcano above burial site on Wurtulla Beach

'If it's been partially buried for later removal, that's fine. But they need to advise the public' he added.  

Ellis said the council has been trying to deal with a feral fox problem on the beach for years.

'To have something like that just below the surface, critters will come from everywhere to feast on it.'

Pools of whale blood have formed above the carcass on Wurtulla beach

On Monday night the council released a statement: 'At about 10am yesterday Sunshine Coast Council officers were alerted to a deceased whale on Wurtulla Beach.'

'Officers immediately mobilised and determined, with the advice from the local Coast Guard, that conditions were too dangerous to tow it out to sea.'

'Council officers sought advice and approval from the State Government regulatory authority EHP (Department of Environment and Heritage Protection) to remove the whale. EHP discussed three options regarding the carcass disposal and advised that apart from dangerous conditions, due to the state of deterioration of the whale, towing the whale out to sea would have attracted more sharks and the whale was likely to break up during the towing process.' 

'Taking it to a waste disposal facility was ruled out due to the fact that the whale may have broken up. Burying the carcass more than 30m above the high tide mark was the most effective way to dispose of it and EHP subsequently approved the burial.'

Sunshine Coast Council were alerted to a washed-up deceased whale on Sunday morning

That statement conflicted with earlier advice from the EHP: 'EHP provided council with permission to dispose of the whale carcass, but did not direct council on the disposal method to be used. Questions about any future monitoring of the site should be directed to council'. 

Social media video footage of the burial showed the whale being rolled in to a sand pit with its skull and upper carcass just below surface level - contradicting the council's claim it had been buried deeper than three meters.

Wurtulla Beach on the Sunshine Coast is a popular beach for walkers and surfers

Surfers and local residents want the whale carcass removed from the beach as soon as possible, over concerns that it may attract sharks and the sand may collapse as the whale decomposes.

They are also worried about the potential for smell to be blown into beach front homes by onshore winds.