Whale stranded at Banks Peninsula on 20 March 2024. Photo: Facebook / Project Jonah
A juvenile pilot whale that stranded at Kaitorete Spit in Canterbury has been euthanised.
Department of Conservation (DOC) Mahaanui operations manager Andy Thompson said efforts were made to refloat the whale, but it had been out of the water for a long time and was beginning to suffer.
The decision was made with iwi to euthanise it shortly after midday on Wednesday.
It is the fourth whale stranding in Canterbury in recent months. A male sperm whale died after stranding on South Brighton Beach last November, a pygmy right whale was found dead at Port Levy a week later, and a juvenile fin whale died after becoming stuck at Moncks Bay in the Avon Heathcote estuary in January.
Thompson said DOC received numerous calls about the stranded pilot whale, around two kilometres south of Birdlings Flat, early this morning.
A ranger and local iwi representative working on the spit were able to get to the whale quickly, followed by a Project Jonah medic and Christchurch City Council staff.
The whale's condition was assessed and attempts were made to refloat it - with an aircraft also sent out to fly the length of Kaitorete Spit and the southern part of Banks Peninsula, to see if the pod remained in the area as that would mean there was a risk of other whales coming ashore.
"While we were able to get the animal quite close to the water and even had the waves washing over it, we weren't able to get it through the breakers and the chance of a successful refloat of a pilot whale, is very, very low, especially when the pod have already disappeared."
Pilot whale strandings were not common in the area, but Thompson said Banks Peninsula attracted a wide range of whale species, as they moved around the coast.
It was not known what had led the whale to strand, and discussions would be held as to whether to take a biopsy for further analysis.
The whale would then be buried on the spit.
'It wasn't meant to be'
Puamiria Parata-Goodall of Te Taumutu Rūnanga and Ngāi Te Ruahikihiki said it was a sad day for the community at Te Mata Hapuku, Birdlings Flat, but she was grateful for the care shown to the whale (tohorā) and the efforts to save it.
"It wasn't meant to be so it's sad but we are grateful for those people that came to try and help today and especially grateful to DOC."
She said it was important to maintain the whale's dignity when laying it to rest.
"Not only is the tohorā a tāonga, but it is actually one of our ancestors and as with all of our ancestors we want to be able to lay this one to rest in peace."
Kenneth Brown of Wairewa Rūnanga and Ngāti Irakehu said some whānau had been with the whale since dawn, and it was considered a gift from Tangaroa, the Māori god of the sea.
"We try our best to send our tāonga back out to the moana but they are gifts and signs from Tangaroa. Sometimes our tāonga are māuiui (sick) and they want to come home and rest, they have done what they needed to do out in the moana and it is time for us, with dignity, to put them into the whenua and complete that cycle."
DOC biodiversity supervisor Craig Alexander said whale strandings were not common on the spit and it was not known what caused the whale to strand, as it was young and appeared to be in good condition, with no wounds.
He said the whale would be taken further up the beach, where it would be buried.