‘Incredible’ New Zealand community unites to save 30 stranded pilot whales on Ruakaka Beach

This event highlights the ongoing challenge of whale strandings in the region

Reading Time:1 minute

Rescuers rope off an area around a dead pilot whale that was stranded on Ruakākā Beach in northland, New Zealand on November 24. Photo: New Zealand Department Of Conservation/AP

Published: 5:07pm, 25 Nov 2024

More than 30 pilot whales that stranded themselves on a beach in New Zealand were safely returned to the ocean after conservation workers and residents helped to refloat them by lifting them on sheets. Four of the pilot whales died, New Zealand’s conservation agency said.

New Zealand is a whale stranding hotspot, and pilot whales are especially prolific stranders.

A team was monitoring Ruakaka Beach near the city of Whangarei in New Zealand’s north on Monday to ensure there were no signs of the whales saved Sunday stranding again, the Department of Conservation said. The agency praised as “incredible” the efforts made by hundreds of people to help save the foundering pod.

Rescuers stand in the water as they help refloat stranded pilot whales. Photo: New Zealand Department Of Conservation/AP

“It’s amazing to witness the genuine care and compassion people have shown toward these magnificent animals,” Joel Lauterbach, a Department of Conservation spokesman, said in a statement. “This response demonstrates the deep connection we all share with our marine environment.”

A Māori cultural ceremony for the three adult whales and one calf that died in the stranding took place on Monday. New Zealand’s Indigenous people consider whales a taonga – a sacred treasure – of cultural significance.

Spokesman, said, “This response demonstrates the deep connection we all share with our marine environment.” Photo: New Zealand Department Of Conservation/AP

New Zealand has recorded more than 5,000 whale strandings since 1840. The largest pilot whale stranding was of an estimated 1,000 whales at the Chatham Islands in 1918, according to the Department of Conservation.