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A Sei whale that died last night after beaching in Golden Bay will be floated and towed this afternoon at high tide, according to the Department of Conservation.
The 14-meter Sei whale washed up at Farewell Spit, Golden Bay. Source: Supplied / Briana Jazmin
The 17-meter whale was found stranded at Farewell Spit around 5 p.m. yesterday by locals, but died shortly after 9 p.m.
DOC Biodiversity Ranger Mike Ogle said DOC staff and about 30 volunteers worked late into the night to keep the whale moist and cool it with cold water.
Ogle said the marine mammal will be towed to the Farewell Spit tidal flats at high tide, which is around 2 p.m. today.
“There are no signs of trauma or injury, and he appears to have been at a healthy weight,” Ogle said.
“It has not yet been determined what may have caused this whale on the beach.”
Weighing 30 tons, Ogle said the whale fell at the upper end of the Sei whale size scale.
Daren Grover, general manager of the volunteer whale rescue group Project Jonah, said members of the public “very, very quickly” went to care for the whale, and DOC staff were stranded 45 minutes after receiving a report. .
The whale, which was stranded about 1 km from the high tide mark, was expected to be able to float again at high tide overnight.
But Grover said the whale was showing signs of poor health when it was found.
He said there was generally an “underlying reason” behind large whale strandings, such as illness, injury, old age or a parasitic infection.
“It could have been a combination of these factors.”
Yesterday’s stranding comes as more than 100 pilot whales and bottlenose dolphins died after being stranded on the north beach of the main island of Chatham last week.
Grover said it was common to see “signs” on whale and dolphin strandings from time to time.
“We expect more activity during the summer months,” he said, as the whale species migrate to eat and reproduce.
He said Sei whale strandings in New Zealand, such as the one found at Farewell Spit, were “quite unusual.”
“As we see ocean temperatures rise due to climate change, we may start to see more unusual species stranded.”
Local iwi were on the scene this morning and a kaumātua will say a karakia before the whale floats again.
The DOC is urging people to stay away from the area while the whale floats again.
