“New Zealand is a hotspot for marine mammal strandings. Since 1840, more than 5,000 strandings of whales and dolphins have been recorded around the New Zealand coast. Strandings occur all year round and usually involve just one or two animals,” she said.
“DOC manages whale strandings and rescues with the help of local communities, volunteers, and organisations like Project Jonah.”
A passerby, who told Hawke’s Bay Today he wished to remain unnamed, said he saw several people working to pull the whale’s body up the beach around midday while on a walk along the beach.
He said Department of Conservation staff and workers from Dodge Contracting had arrived to remove the body and he believed members of the local iwi or hapu were present.
He believes the dead whale was first sighted and reported a couple of hours earlier, around 10am.
