Whale stranding a humbling experience

 

Being registered with Project Jonah, Che Burnett of Aotearoa Surf was one of the first to be notified following the stranding of a humpback whale and calf off Ripiro Beach on Dargaville’s West Coast. Keen to be of assistance if possible, Che organised a van and with half a dozen others, wet suits and any other necessary gear they headed West. 

Among the passengers was Bee Tipene and her two children. 

“We were keen to help though were not much help at all. Nevertheless it was an eye opening experience for us all and we left there feeling heavy hearted and helpless. My kids found it an awesome yet sad experience and rather humbling,” she said.

Upon arrival, the day after the stranding, it was obvious the calf was dead. It was all hands on deck in a valiant attempt to save what was believed to be the mother but there were a number of obstacles in the path of rescuers: the wild surf, the psychological state of the mother having lost her calf and the immense weight of the mammal at 15 metres long and an estimated 25-plus tonnes.

Diggers built a bank in an attempt to catch enough water to give some floatation to the whale in the hope it would then try to free itself but to no avail. Under different circumstances the whale would have been magnificent. 
“The magnitude is mind-boggling,” said one rescuer.

Whale Rescue co-founder Ingrid Visser stayed with the whale overnight, along with some other whale rescue team members, and joined DOC Kauri Coast officials and fire and emergency people in saying it was a great community effort, albeit unsuccessful.

The decision to euthenase was made in consultation between all parties and Iwi – a difficult decision but one that became inevitable as time progressed without any likelihood of the whale being refloated.

Up to 200 people arrived on the scene, some spectators and some would-be helpers though some needed help after taking vehicles along the beach and getting stuck and then really not knowing what to do and not always following instructions.

“This is all part of the education in these cases”, said a Project Jonah spokesperson. “We are still very much in the ‘breakdown’ phase but we learn a little more from each stranding in the hope we can get a successful outcome in the future. And it’s a great education learning about the whales for many people but we also have to educate people on how to approach them, people numbers, and vehicle proximity.” 

Iwi imposed a Rahui on the beach – a stay from fishing or the gathering of shellfish – until the bodies had been broken down and buried.
This follows in the wake of a leopard seal, a protected species, being mercilessly shot a week before, on another stretch of the same Dargaville beach that claimed the life of the whales.

Rescuers and concerned locals had a common purpose, but little hope of saving the stranded whale and calf.