A juvenile beaked whale stranded on South New Brighton Beach was successfully reloaded on Saturday.
One of the first people on the scene told chrislynchmedia.com they contacted DOC but were instructed not to touch the whale.
Although the whale was returned to the water, concerns remain about its chances of survival, as another witness said it appeared injured.
Andy Thompson DOC Mahaanui Operations Manager said “we received a call around 430pm yesterday of a Dolphin stranded in New Brighton.
“Local iwi Ngāi Tūāhuriri, DOC, and Project Jonah responded.
“It is likely to be a young or juvenile Cuvier’s Beaked-Whale or an even rarer Gingko whale. Both are deep water species.
“At 540pm Project Jonah staff had the whale secured and pointing out to sea. The whale swam out, so it was a successful re-float.
“The whale was seen later in the evening, just out behind the breakers.
”It is a young and vulnerable whale and we are very hopeful of a successful outcome but we are very mindful it is likely we will see it again somewhere else along the coast.
We would ask the public to report any sightings of the whale to 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).”
Beaked whales are among the least-known groups of mammals due to their usual deep-sea habitat and elusive behaviour according to the Department of Conservation.
They are remarkable deep divers. The goosebeaked whale Ziphius cavirostris holds the record for any breath hold diving mammal, with one holding its breath for 222 minutes, and recorded diving to 2,998 m.
