A 14-metre whale has died after getting stranded at Golden Bay yesterday. The enormous animal, believed to be a sei whale, was discovered by locals on Farewell Spit in the afternoon, and the general manager of the whale saving organisation Project Jonah, said it died last night. Sei whale's are described by the Department of Conservation as a rare sight in New Zealand. Mike Ogle said he hasn't seen a stranded sei whale in 17 years working in the area, and had only seen one at sea. "Anton van Helden who works for DOC in the marine team says there's very little in the museum collections of sei whales in New Zealand."

Source: Otago Daily Times December 04, 2020 23:37 UTC