#MarineWildlife - Surfers in Sydney's Freshwater Bay have been accused of harassing a large whale that came close to the shore at the weekend.

The southern right whale, believed to be a female searching for a quiet place to calf, caused amazement when she swam into waters populated by surfers and swimmers near Australia's largest city.

But as the UK's Independent reports, such giant marine wildlife poses a serious danger to humans, with a surfer reportedly injured by a whale of the same species at Bondi Beach last year.

That didn't stop one group of surfing enthusiasts from paddling close to the whale, ignoring warnings over loudspeaker from the beach nearby.

“To be honest they were harassing it a bit," said local resident Ian Hansen. "They were so close and it had no room to move."

As ITV News adds, Australian law requires swimmers to stay at least 30 metres away from whales in the water, while boats and surfers must keep 100 metres' distance.