Two beaked whales wash up in Napier on consecutive days

The dead whale on Wednesday morning after being towed to an accessible location in Napier's inner harbour. Photo / Sarah Paroli

Two beaked whales washed up in Napier on consecutive days and have since been buried.

One of the animals was discovered dead near Nelson Quay in Napier’s inner harbour on Wednesday morning before being towed to a location near Pandora Rd for removal.

It was lifted out of the water before being taken away on a truck for burial.

Department of Conservation (DoC) Hawke’s Bay acting operations manager Kelly Eaton confirmed it was a beaked whale.

“DoC and Mana Ahuriri representatives attended and worked with the harbourmaster and contractors to retrieve and bury the whale, alongside Maungaharuru Tangitū Trust.”

Another dead beaked whale was located nearby a day earlier. It has been buried.

A dead beaked whale being removed from near Nelson Quay, Napier, on Wednesday morning. Photo / Sarah Paroli

Napier resident Sarah Paroli was driving to the gym on Wednesday morning when she spotted people in high-vis tending to one of the whales. She stopped to see what was happening.

“The people standing there were really gentle with it.”

She said at first she thought it was alive but it was quickly apparent it had died.

Paroli said she had never seen a stranded whale before and a lot of people gathered to watch what was happening.