Conservation organizations and around 30 local residents are observing as the whale tries to free itself from the sandbar, located a few hundred meters off Doctors Pt in Blueskin Bay, this afternoon.
Tom Brough, a marine scientist and resident of Doctors Pt, mentioned that he had spotted the humpback swimming along the coast earlier in the day.
‘It unintentionally got too close to the sandbar here and ended up getting stuck at around 10:30 am,’ he shared with the Otago Daily Times in the afternoon.
‘It is slowly being pushed inwards into the bay.’
The Department of Conservation (Doc), Project Jonah, and Surf Lifesaving are all involved and keeping a close eye on the situation, according to Brough.
However, due to the whale being mostly submerged, it is too dangerous to send individuals into the water to assist.
‘We are waiting for the tide, but for a large whale like this, there is not much that can be done,’ Dr. Brough explained.
‘It is actually risky to have people in the water, especially since it is not shallow.’
He estimated the whale’s length at 15 meters and noticed skin damage, which is common when animals roll on sand.
‘It is currently high tide, so if it does not manage to get off the sandbar soon, it will be left high and dry where it is,’ Dr. Brough stated.
‘In six hours, it will be low tide again, and it may not end well for the whale if it remains in the same location.’
He acknowledged that it is a challenging and sometimes emotional situation for people.
‘It is always heartbreaking to see an animal like this, which should be out in the ocean, end up on a beach. But it is nature’s way, and it can be cruel sometimes.’
Dr. Brough mentioned that humpback whales migrate south during this time of year and while strandings are not common, the coast off Warrington tends to be a hotspot for beached whales.
‘The humpback whale population is increasing, which is a positive development. However, it does mean that situations like this arise occasionally, where a whale ends up in the wrong place at the wrong time.’
Humpback whales typically migrate alone or in mother-calf pairs, and Dr. Brough believes this particular whale was traveling solo.
‘If there was a calf, we would have seen it.’
A photographer from the ODT who was present at the scene mentioned that onlookers were observing the whale from three different headlands around the bay.
Gabe Davies, Doc’s operations manager, stated that they were notified about the stranded whale earlier in the day.
‘Our staff are on-site and collaborating closely with Kāti Huirapa Rūnaka ki Puketeraki, Project Jonah, and Surf Life Saving New Zealand.’
‘We will provide further updates once we have more information.’
ruby.shaw@odt.co.nz
