Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning senior projects officer Mandy Watson said staff stayed with the animal – believed to be a 2.5-metre-long pygmy sperm whale or dwarf sperm whale – until nightfall but were unable to get it out of the shallow water for a vet examination or back into deeper water.

A search of Warrnambool’s beaches on Tuesday morning failed to locate the whale.

However Ms Watson said it was “unlikely it would have survived and recovered”.

“The whale wasn’t able to hold itself upright – it was so compromised and being battered by the surf. These type of whales are not normally close in (to shore) so it’s got to be something wrong. It got back out behind the breakers but then it came back in.”

She said if anyone spotted the whale they should call the whale and dolphin hotline on 1300 136 017.