DOC staff bury southern bottlenose whale that beached at Port Waikato

November 5, 2018

Department of Conservation staff are this afternoon burying a whale that died last week after becoming stranded in Port Waikato. 

DOC staff, Project Jonah volunteers and members of the public spent the day on Friday trying to re-float the southern bottlenose whale which beached itself in Maraetai Bay .

A DOC spokesperson has told 1 NEWS local kaumatua will guide the DOC team to the designated burial area and perform a Karakia.  

There's a special burial ground for whales near the mouth of the Waikato River, the spokesperson said.

DOC Waikato operations manager Ray Scrimgeour was grateful for the support of Project Jonah volunteers and community members last week. 

“Despite the sad outcome, it was a great and arduous effort from everyone involved,” he said.

The whale was about four metres long and weighed about 750kg. 

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