A five-metre Cuvier's beaked whale was euthanised at Whangaimoana beach, South Wairarapa after attempts to refloat it failed
© Luke TipokiA five-metre Cuvier's beaked whale was euthanised at Whangaimoana beach, South Wairarapa after attempts to refloat it failed
A whale stranded on a Wairarapa beach for two days has been euthanized and buried according to local iwi's wishes.

The 5-metre Cuvier's beaked whale has been stranded for two days since being spotted on a beach at Whangaimoana on Wairarapa's southern coast. Despite efforts to re-float the two-tonne whale on Wednesday night and Thursday, the animal was unable to swim back to sea once in the water.

Department of Conservation Wairarapa operations manager Kathy Houkamau said they made the call on Friday morning in consultation with local iwi to euthanize the whale.

"We found the whale in weaker condition when we got there and made the decision to euthanize. Obviously, our primary concern was the welfare of the whale and we knew that in that weakened state it wasn't going to re-float," she says.

The whale was shot with a firearm while a karakia was being recited and then the carcass was buried in a hole further up the beach accompanied by a ceremony presided over by Kahungunu ki Wairarapa chief executive PJ Devonshire.

Houkamau says Department of Conservation is charged with the final decision to put a distressed whale down, though local iwi is consulted about how to treat the dead whale afterwards and they opted to have the animal buried nearby with a blessing.

"It's heart-breaking, but not a difficult decision to make for an animal who we need to make that decision for," she says.

She wanted to thank all the staff, volunteers and experts that assisted during the period of the whale's stranding and their attempts to get it back into the ocean.

"The community around us down there was fabulous. They worked tirelessly alongside us and we just really appreciated their support," she says.

Source: Dominion Post