Residents stop pilot whales from stranding
Stewart Island residents were amazed to see a group of whales come into the village harbour but that quickly turned to concern when the whales almost stranded themselves on a beach.
On Friday about 4pm, a pod consisting 20 or 30 pilot whales came into Halfmoon Bay and were swimming amongst the boats moored in the harbour near Oban.
Island resident Furhana Ahmed said the whales came into the bay very slowly and they were regularly popping their heads out of the water, which is known as spy hopping.
Ahmed and many other people had parked their vehicles on Lonnekers Beach and were watching on as the whales milled about in the harbour.
Suddenly the adult whales looked like they were heading out of the bay but then turned towards the beach and were coming into the shore with their young following behind, Ahmed said.
When the whales came into the shallows it appeared like they tried to turn around but could not get back out and some turned upside down, she said.
‘‘It was just incredible.’’ The locals wasted no time and quickly got into the water and started to turn the whales around.
Department of Conservation ranger Phred Dobbins said he was in a meeting when a colleague came in about 4.20pm telling staff there were whales in the harbour.
Ten minutes later, Dobbins went out to look at the whales and said the whales seemed to be showing signs of distress as indicated by the spy hopping and also slapping their tails.
At that point Dobbins thought it was best just leave the whales and observe them.
It was about 6pm when the whales started to circle before suddenly making their way into Lonnekers Beach, Dobbins said.
‘‘People didn’t hesitate to jump in and help save the whales.’’
Some whales did become stuck but those in the water managed to turn them around again and eventually formed a line to stop them coming into the beach, Dobbins said.
The whales started to circle out in the harbour in line with the ferry passage, he said.
With the ferry due soon, department staff got in contact with the incoming ferry crew and told them to slow down immediately.
At 7pm, Dobbins made the call to try and push the whales out of the bay and back into open water.
Using three dinghies, Dobbins and two other department staff herded the whales out of the bay into the open water.
For about 10 minutes, Dobbins and the other staff watched the whales, who appeared to calm before heading east.
On Saturday morning he took a walk along the local beaches but saw no sign that the whales had returned.
Dobbins had been on the island for 30 years and in that time he had never heard of whales coming into Halfmoon Bay.
There had been many whale strandings on the island but the majority tended to occur on isolated beaches, he said.
Dobbins said he was grateful to the locals who helped turn the whales around.
Earlier this month, a longfinned pilot whale died after it became stranded on Oreti Beach.
About 145 pilot whales died following a mass stranding at Mason Bay on Stewart Island in November.