Department of Conservation rangers stayed on the beach throughout the night to assess the situation. Photo: Katie Oliver / Project Jonah
A sperm whale stranded on a Christchurch beach has died overnight.
Department of Conservation rangers stayed on South Brighton Beach throughout the night to assess the situation.
Whale conservation group Project Jonah said by 4.30am the whale was high and dry with no water around it, and it died.
General manager Daren Grover said local iwi had already blessed the whale with karakia and the process of removing the whale from the beach would begin soon.
In a Facebook post, Project Jonah said there had only been four successful refloats of sperm whales in New Zealand, the last one in Timaru in 2020.
"Large whales like this one pose a huge logistial challenge for a refloat due to their size and weight and often they have underlying health conditions which is likely the reason for them stranding," it said.
It was the fifth sperm whale to have died in the last month, after three stranded in Northland and one in Mahia.
The organisation thanked everyone who reached out with offers of help.