Pygmy blue whale buried on Maori land

Photo / Department of Conservation

A 30 tonne pygmy blue whale has been buried on Maori land after washing up dead on a beach near Palmerston North on Saturday.

People fishing near Himatangi Beach spotted the giant bobbing just offshore and contacted the Department of Conservation (DOC).

DOC conservation partnership manager Manawatu-Wairarapa said it had been confirmed as a pygmy blue whale, which were relatively common in the waters around New Zealand.

"It was 16 metres long or something like that and somewhere in the vicinity of 30 tonnes, so it's really not a pygmy," he said.

"They're a pretty impressive animal."

The carcass was in an advanced state of decomposition when it washed ashore so it was impossible to establish how the whale died.

"It could have been involved in a collision with a ship or might have died of old age. There's really no way of telling," Mr Lester said.

It was hoisted off the beach by a contracted digger and buried on nearby Maori land yesterday.