Fifty-one pilot whales die after mass stranding in Chatham Islands

Friday, 30 November 2018

DOC marine mammal expert Dr Dave Lundquish discusses marine mammal behaviour and stranding.

Fifty-one whales have died after becoming stranded in the Chatham Islands.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) said it was notified on Thursday evening of about 80 to 90 pilot whales stranded at Hanson Bay, near Owenga.

A dead pilot whale being removed at Hanson Bay in Chatham Islands on Friday after a whale stranding.

About 30 to 40 whales had refloated themselves and returned to sea by the time DOC staff arrived late Thursday.

Fifty-one whales remained stranded and all were dead but one.

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The whales were removed on Friday and buried at the site.

It was too late to take action, so DOC staff returned to euthanise the whale that was still alive on Friday.

DOC Chatham Islands operations manager Dave Carlton said they could not have saved the last whale.

'It was the most humane thing to do,' he said.

'This is always an awful decision to have to make.'

DOC notified the local Moriori iwi and Ngāti Mutunga iwi and is working with locals to bury the whales where they stranded.

Nigel Ryan, who lives about 1 kilometre from where the whales were stranded, said the incident happened about 4.30pm on Thursday, Chatham Island time, which is 45 minutes ahead of standard New Zealand time.

'You feel helpless because there's nothing you can do,' he said. 'There was quite a lot of blood in the water.'

His relative contacted DOC, which arrived about 6pm, he said.

The stranding comes less than a week after 145 whales were stranded in Stewart Island, pictured.

Thursday's stranding comes after 145 pilot whales were stranded on Stewart Island on Saturday. None survived.

Ten pygmy killer whales were also stranded on 90 Mile Beach in Northland on Sunday.

A DOC statement said marine mammal strandings were relatively common on New Zealand shores.

The reason why whales and dolphins strand is not fully known but factors can include sickness, navigational error, geographical features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator, or extreme weather.