An adult humpback whale, which stranded and died near Waitati on Saturday, left conservation groups and local residents emotionally spent yesterday.
It was discovered early on Saturday, a few hundred metres off Doctors Pt, in Blueskin Bay, and staff from the Department of Conservation, Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, Project Jonah, Surf Life Saving New Zealand and about 30 local residents spent much of the day attempting to free the 8m-10m whale from a bar.
Doc operations manager Gabe Davies said humpback whales were a taonga species and were normally found in deep water.
"When they come ashore like this, it is often because they are unwell."
The team worked until late on Saturday to free it, he said.
"Given the high risk to people’s safety when working with stranded whales in darkness, the decision was made to return to the beach once it was light."
Doc staff returned yesterday morning to find the whale dead.
"Sadly, the whale did not move off the bar with the tide and later Saturday afternoon, Doc staff were able to approach the whale.
"Together, we assessed the whale's health, which showed signs of malnutrition, sickness and possible physical injury.
"This was an unwell animal and likely the reason it was unable to refloat itself."
Initially, there were concerns about the location of the whale and how difficult it would be to remove from the site.
However, it was eventually removed from the water using an excavator and placed on the back of a truck.
"We are now working with the Dunedin City Council and Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki to develop a plan for the respectful relocation of the whale," Mr Davies said.
Earth Sciences New Zealand marine scientist and Doctors Point resident Tom Brough said he had seen the adult humpback swimming along the coast on Saturday morning.
"It sort of just got in a little close to the bar here and it ended up getting stranded at about 10.30am," he said.
Doc, Project Jonah and Surf Lifesaving monitored the situation, but believed it was too risky to send people into the water to try to help the mostly submerged whale, he said.
Instead, they waited for the tide to come in, in the hope it could be freed again.
"For a big whale like this, there's not really a lot you can do," Dr Brough said.
He could see signs of damage to the whale’s skin, which he said was common when animals had been rolling on sand.
It was a challenging situation, and emotional for some people.
"It's always pretty sad to see an animal like this, that should be out there in the ocean doing its thing, ending up on a beach.
"But it's one of those things, you know. Nature can be pretty cruel sometimes."
