Epic road journey is now over for 24 stranded pilot whales

Date:  24 September 2010

6.25pm 

24 whales, part of a pod of pilot whales that stranded at Spirits Bay in the Far North on Wednesday morning, have been transported 50km south to Rarawa beach, in an attempt to refloat them.

More than half the whales have now been unloaded into the water using lifting equipment and diggers, where teams of volunteers will support the mammals to give them a chance to reorient themselves. 

So far, most of the whales have coped with the journey. However two died en route, and another died at the beach.

Department of Conservation Incident Controller, Jonathan Maxwell, says the decision to transport the whales was a difficult one, as it was not without risks to the whales’ well-being. But it was the only realistic option available to give the whales any chance of survival.

“Whales are designed to live in water, so the pressure on their internal organs from lying on a hard surface, combined with the stress of the situation is very hard on them. 

Given the situation, and the incredible interest and support the whales have received from the public across the country, to not even attempt to save them would have been extremely difficult for all concerned,” said Mr Maxwell.

Surging waves and 2-metre swells have prevented rescuers from being able to refloat the whales at Spirits Bay, leading to the decision to transport them to Rarawa, using trucks and trailers.

Once all the whales are in the water, they will be released together. At this stage, coordinators estimate that to happen about 6.30pm tonight. Pontoons will be used to take the larger ones out to sea, and then boats will herd the whales out to sea. 

Over two hundred volunteers have come to Rarawa beach today. Hundreds of volunteers from as far south as Wellington have been working alongside Department of Conservation staff over the past 3 days, including volunteers from Project Jonah and Far North Whale Rescue. Staff have been inundated with offer of help, even someone from Australia planning to fly over on Wednesday.

Department of Conservation staff says they are ‘proud and humbled by the phenomenal support they have received to date from everyone involved.’

Residents from the tiny community of Te Hapua, at the tip of the country, have shown incredible support throughout the operation. Teams from the community have been running a field kitchen at both beaches, keeping cold, wet volunteers constantly supplied with hot food and drinks. Donations of food have also been pouring in, from soup mix to scones and even local oysters.

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