Is this the world’s rarest? Scientists puzzle over beached whale in New Zealand

Scientists say a creature that washed up on a South Island beach this month may be an elusive whale that has never been seen alive

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Rangers inspect what is believed to be a rare spade-toothed whale after it was found washed ashore on a beach near Otago, New Zealand on July 5. Photo: Department of Conservation via AP

Published: 3:52am, 16 Jul 2024Updated: 8:21am, 16 Jul 2024

Spade-toothed whales are the world’s rarest, with no live sightings ever recorded. No one knows how many there are, what they eat, or even where they live in the vast expanse of the southern Pacific Ocean. However, scientists in New Zealand may have finally caught a break.

The country’s conservation agency said on Monday a creature that washed up on a South Island beach this month is believed to be a spade-toothed whale. The five-metre-long creature, a type of beaked whale, was identified after it washed ashore on an Otago beach from its colour patterns and the shape of its skull, beak and teeth.

“We know very little, practically nothing” about the creatures, Hannah Hendriks, marine technical adviser for the Department of Conservation, said. “This is going to lead to some amazing science and world-first information.”

If the cetacean is confirmed to be the elusive spade-toothed whale, it would be the first specimen found in a state that would permit scientists to dissect it, allowing them to map the relationship of the whale to the few others of the species found, learn what it eats and perhaps lead to clues about where they live.

Rangers walk alongside what is thought to be a rare spade-toothed whale specimen on a beach near Otago, New Zealand. Photo: Department of Conservation via AP

Only six other spade-toothed whales have ever been pinpointed, and those found intact on New Zealand’s North Island beaches were buried before DNA testing could verify their identification, Hendriks said, thwarting any chance to study them.