SCIENTIFIC tests will be conducted from samples taken from the rotting carcass of a whale washed up at Flinders earlier this month to determine the species.
The 13.5-metre cetacean is thought to be either a young blue or a mature pygmy blue whale and may have been hit by a ship.
Parks Victoria has erected a sign warning people, mainly surfers, that the whale may be attracting sharks to the area.
Hastings-based cetacean researcher Jeff Weir of the Dolphin Research Institute said increases in shipping and whale numbers meant the likelihood of the whales being struck by ships would increase.
He said blue and pygmy blue whales were present in Bass Strait this time of year, feeding off the coast of Western Victoria at the Bonney Upwelling off Portland.
The upwelling brings nutrient-rich water to the surface, attracting krill, which in turn attracts the giants. A mature blue whale can grow to 33 metres and pygmy blues can reach 24 metres.
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