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Beaked whale dies after stranding on Rabbit Island

Tuesday, 21 May 2019

Local iwi gather for a karakea at the site where a scamperdown or Gray's beaked whale beached at Rabbit Island, near Nelson.

Two kayakers tried in vain to rescue a deep-water whale that stranded on Rabbit Island, near Nelson.

Danial Bremner was kayaking near the eastern end of Rabbit Island around 11.30am on Sunday when he saw a fin break the water. 

He initially thought it was a shark or a dolphin, but it turned out to be a scamperdown or Gray's beaked whale which was in trouble.

'We saw it come up out the surface of the water, all I really saw was its fin so I thought it was a shark … then we saw it thrashing on the sandbank.'

**READ MORE:

* William Trubridge swims Cook Strait underwater to raise awareness of endangered species

* Beaked whale dies after stranding in Motueka

* Gray's whale loses its beak from illegal chainsaw removal on West Coast**

An excavator moves the Gray
An excavator moves the Gray's beaked whale from the beach at Nelson's Rabbit Island to a burial site.

Bremner said the tide was going out fast and left the whale stranded, so he and another kayaker tried to rescue it. He estimated the whale was about seven-metres long.

'If it was smaller, I think we could have got it back out, but there was just two of us,' he said.

He kayaked back to Monaco, a 20 minute trip, to alert the Department of Conservation (DOC) and get some help. But by the time they got back to the whale, it had died.

'It had drowned, it had rolled over and the seawater had got in her blow-hole.'

Bremner said the whale's death was 'a real shame'.

Iwi members performed a karakia at the stranding site on Monday before the whale was buried.
Iwi members performed a karakia at the stranding site on Monday before the whale was buried.

'I helped out last year with William Trubridge's Cook Strait crossing to raise awareness for Hector's and Maui dolphins. This turned out to be a whale, but it's still upsetting.'

On Monday members of local iwi gathered for a karakia at the stranding site before an excavator moved the whale to a burial site.

Project Jonah general manager Daren Grover said the Gray's beaked whale, like the 20 other types of beaked whale, tended to be 'deep-living' animals that rarely came close to shore, so there could have been underlying health issues for the whale Bremner saw.

The Gray
The Gray's beaked whale is typically a deepwater species, and may have come into shallow waters because of illness.
Two kayakers tried to rescue the whale but could not move it, and by the time they could raise the alarm it had died.
Two kayakers tried to rescue the whale but could not move it, and by the time they could raise the alarm it had died.

'They spend almost all their time very deep … once they do come close to shore they tend to get caught up in tides and currents and can end up stranding.'

Beaked whales tended to strand as individuals, rather than in the mass strandings pilot whales and dolphins could be prone to.

He said Bremner did the right thing in getting help as quickly as possible, even if ultimately the whale could not be saved.

'Immediately call for help, phone for help if you can. Call DOC first at 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468), then call Project Jonah at 0800 4 WHALE (0800 4 94253). If you call us, we'll give advice in the moment.

'Ultimately your safety is paramount. It sounds like this whale was in potentially choppy water, rolling about, and with it coming into winter you could be putting yourself in danger getting in the water to try and keep the whale upright.'