Tradies dismantle wharf after massive find in water underneath

From it's name alone you might expect the pygmy blue whale to be small, but the creature trapped under the wharf was anything but.

Michael Dahlstrom
·Environment Editor
·2-min read
A pygmy blue whale lodged underneath the pier at Kawau Island.
A pygmy blue whale was discovered wedged under the private Schoolhouse Bay wharf. Source: DOC

A private wharf has been dismantled after a 15-metre long animal was found stuck underneath. Skilled tradies took a sledgehammer to its wooden beams and used heavy machinery to remove some of the pylons on Monday in an effort to free the pygmy blue whale trapped beneath, a subspecies that’s listed as endangered.

Images supplied to Yahoo News show the juvenile whale languishing in the water at Kawau Island, 45 kilometres north of Auckland. New Zealand’s Department of Conservation (DOC) described the incident as an “unusual situation” and employed the skills of specialised contractors for assistance.

Because the whale is classified as a “taonga” species that’s significant to the culture or identity of Māori, local cultural experts were engaged to advise on the process for freeing it. And they monitored it during the dismantling of the wharf to ensure it remained calm.

Related: World's rarest whale washes up at remote fishing village

Left: A tradie and a sledgehammer on the wharf at Kawau Island. Right: Heavy machinery next to the wharf.
Specialised contractors where used to help dismantle the wharf. Source: DOC

Multiple teams worked until 6pm to free the animal and then guided it back out to sea. On Tuesday morning, DOC confirmed it hadn’t been seen again.

Adult pygmy blue whales can reach up to 24 metres in length and weigh up to 90 tonnes, a fraction of their larger cousins, the blue whale, which are the largest species ever to exist on Earth and can grow to 30 metres and weigh 200 tonnes.

Three people standing above the whale.
The whale was kept calm while the wharf was dismantled. Source: DOC
The giant whale in the water at Kawau Island after it was freed.
After the whale was freed it was guided back out to deeper water. Source: DOC

“This was a huge collaborative effort, and we couldn’t have done it without the help of the many people on the ground,” DOC’s Kat Lane said.

Blue whales can travel thousands of kilometres and so the animal could be a long way off by now. DOC has asked anyone who sees it to contact it on 0800 362 468.

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