Sperm whale dies at Governors Bay | Canterbury News | Local News in Canterbury

A young sperm whale died while stranded on the rocks at Governors Bay yesterday after two separate attempts to save it.

A member of the public discovered the 1.7m juvenile female, believed to be a pygmy sperm whale, on the rocks about 11.30am. It died before Department of Conservation staff got to the scene.

It was the third time the whale had become stranded in two days.

It was first discovered on New Brighton Beach about 9am on Monday.

DOC staff and city council rangers opted to transport the whale on a truck to Banks Peninsula after they could not move it back into the water there.

They released it at Cass Bay and it "torpedoed away," said DOC marine ecologist for Canterbury conservancy Laura Allum.

However, the whale was discovered beached again on the mud flats at Governors Bay shortly after 2pm that afternoon.

This time they took it in a boat and released it about two kilometres off the Lyttelton Harbour heads, she said. Again the whale "just took off."

However, they were saddened to hear it had beached again at Governors Bay yesterday, this time on the rocks, she said.

It was decided that euthanasia was the most humane option, but the whale died before DOC rangers got there, said Miss Allum.

Miss Allum said it was rare to find a pygmy sperm whale in New Zealand waters.

"The only time you find out about them is when they wash ashore," she said.

DOC staff collected the whale from Governors Bay about midday, and transported it to DOC's Sockburn office.

Miss Allum said the animal's measurements would be taken and the organs sent to Massey University for research purposes.