A large pod of pilot whales have become stranded on a beach in Western Australia.

As many as 70 of the whales were spotted in a tightly packed group about 100m off of Cheynes Beach, about 70km northeast of Albany in West Australia, on Tuesday morning.

Unfortunately dozens of those have now become beached and locals have dashed down to the bay to try to save them.

The Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions (DBCA) has warned the public to not get too close to the whales

‘The pod of approximately 60-70 long-finned pilot whales have begun to strand on Cheynes Beach,’ the DBCA confirmed.

‘DBCA are leading a response and managing the incident.’

While the department acknowledged extensive offers to help free the whales from the beach, they maintained safety being their priority.

‘We understand the public’s concern at this time and appreciate the offers of support from volunteers,’ the post reads.

‘However, the safety of the public and the whales are our main priority, so we ask that members of the public do not approach the beach.’

The department had preciously issued a warning to not approach the pod ‘via drones or vessels’ when they were still just off shore.

DBCA officers were at the beach throughout the day, monitoring ‘the pod’s behaviour and movements’ until they became stranded.

Speaking to The West, local caravan park owner, Joanne Marsh, first spotted the pod at around dusk on Monday night and described their movements as ‘totally strange’.

According to the Bureau of Meteorology’s Tide Tables, the whales are currently beached at low tide with the next high tide occurring at just before 5am on Wednesday.