A young whale that died after getting stuck underneath a boat ramp in Auckland may have been fleeing from orca whales in the Hauraki Gulf.
A juvenile minke whale was stuck under a wharf at Hobsonville Point. Photo: Facebook / Project Jonah
The 4m-long juvenile minke whale got stuck under a boat ramp near the Hobsonville Ferry terminal.
Project Jonah general manager Daren Grover said the organisation was notified of the trapped whale this afternoon.
Photos showed the animal was "well and truly" wedged under. The Department of Conservation and Project Jonah sprang into action to help save the whale, but it had died by the time the teams arrived.
Grover believed the whale got stuck after coming too close to shore and getting disorientated by the shallow waters.
"Antarctic minke whales aren't a coastal species - they're used to much deeper water," he said
"It was probably quite confused by how shallow the water was here, and coming in on an incoming tide it's been brought close to shore and got caught in a really unfortunate position."
He said the Waitematā Harbour often had a quick incoming tide, so it was easy for an animal to be caught in it.
"We do know there were orca in the vicinity in the last 48 hours in the Hauraki Gulf ... that's just one possibility. It could be that this animal was tired and split from it's family unit and distressed by that."
Local iwi have blessed the whale with a karakia and arrangements were being made for its removal.