After the excitement surrounding Wellington's cetacean visitor, Auckland now has its own marine mammal stars impressing sightseers.
Multiple blue whales, including a mother and its calf, have been spotted in the Hauraki Gulf over the past 12 months, including a spectacular sighting caught on camera yesterday.
Footage taken from an Auckland Whale & Dolphin Safari tour boat shows what is thought to be the fluke of a pygmy blue whale majestically breaching the water as onlookers cheer in delight.
Around 60 people on the boat got a good look at four blue whales during their tour.
"The mother showed her tail (flukes) on several occasions, which is quite the rarity as our resident baleen whale species, the Bryde's whale, does not do this.
"This year is becoming a record for the company in terms of the number of blue whale sightings!" Auckland Whale & Dolphin Marine Research Officer Catherine Lea said.
US researchers have discovered New Zealand has its own population of more than 700 "genetically distinct" blue whales. The pygmy blue whale - which is up to 22 metres long - is smaller than its Australian and Antarctic cousins.
"Like our local Bryde's whales, these blues are filter feeders so the gulf is a great place for them giving the year around productivity in this region," Massey University's Dr Karen Stockin told 1 NEWS.
"Given this particular whale was seen with a calf, that is particularly exciting for us and bodes well for NZ's blue whale population."
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