Rotting whale an attraction
The cause of a stranded sperm whale’s death in waters near Nelson will remain a mystery as it’s left to rot on a remote beach.
The final decision to leave the 18-metre, 50 tonne whale tethered at the Blind Channel end of Rabbit Island, where it was found on December 30, was made yesterday.
‘‘We have consulted with Tasman District Council and local iwi who support the sperm whale being secured where it is to decompose naturally,’’ DOC Motueka operations manager Chris Golding said.
‘‘Cutting the whale up into several pieces to bury it in sand dunes was considered but the preference was to leave it secured where it is as it is more natural for beached whales to decompose in the tidal zone and decomposition is quicker.’’
Attempts last week to move the whale using two large diggers were unsuccessful because of the creature’s ‘‘immense’’ size.
The whale is in an area that usually has low public use, about four kilometres from the main beach and picnic area at Rabbit Island.
Despite its remote location, it has continued to attract sightseers.
Golding said people should not touch the whale’s decomposing carcass for health reasons.
He said it could cause cuts or other wounds to become infected.
The smell could also permeate clothing and the rotting whale blubber was sticky, he said.
Local iwi blessed the whale and removed its jawbone and teeth on last week, as agreed under DOC protocols.
It is an offence to remove any parts of the whale’s body without consent. Golding said DOC staff will continue to monitor the whale regularly and it could take several weeks for it to decompose.
The timing of the whale stranding on New Year’s Eve meant that a necropsy (an autopsy on an animal) was not possible, Golding said.
The fully grown, male sperm whale was spotted swimming in Tasman Bay on December 29 and looked to be in poor health.
Golding said the whale was dead in the water before it was discovered on the beach.
DOC protocol for responding to a whale stranding includes assessing when to undertake a necropsy, which usually consisted of a post-mortem examination by Massey University pathologists to try to determine the cause of death.
However, by the time a pathologist could be contacted and get to Nelson, the whale would have been dead for too long, Golding said.
‘‘Dead whales and dolphins need to be in suitable condition for necropsy. To try to determine the cause of death of any stranded whales or dolphins, the carcasses need to be fresh and the animals dead less than two days.’’
Professor Liz Slooten, a zoologist at Otago University, said there was plenty of time to undertake a necropsy and a pathologist was on standby on the day of the stranding.
‘‘It’s a great shame that didn’t happen.’’ Even with a necropsy, determining the exact cause of a stranding can be difficult, Golding said.
‘‘Factors can include sickness, navigational error, geographical features, a rapidly falling tide, being chased by a predator, or extreme weather. More than one factor may contribute to a stranding.’’
Theories put forward by experts include a collision with a large boat and intensive seismic testing on both sides of the Cook Strait.
Slooten said a timely necropsy would have helped to determine whether or not seismic testing contributed to the whale’s death.