Extremely rare and mysterious 'beaked whale' washes up on beach

The remains of a five-metre (16-foot) whale were found on a New Zealand beach near a river mouth in the Otago region of the south-east of the South Island on July 4, researchers said. It is believed to be the body of a Travers' beaked whale, a rare species that has never been seen alive before, and which appears to have washed up on the waves, according to the scientists.

Marine mammal experts from the New Zealand Department of Conservation and Te Papa National Museum have identified the whale as a male. “These whales are one of the most overlooked large mammal species in modern times,” said Gabby Davies, Department of Conservation’s operations manager on the Otago Coast.

Only six specimens have been documented.

“Since the 19th century, only six specimens have been documented worldwide, and only one was not from New Zealand,” the scientist said in a statement on Monday. “The discovery was recent enough to provide the first opportunity to dissect a Travers’ beaked whale,” the conservation department said, adding that the species is “so rare that almost nothing is known about it.”

Research of “international importance”

The whale's body is in cold storage and DNA samples have been sent to the University of Auckland for analysis to confirm its identity, which could take months or weeks. “The rarity of this whale means that discussions about what to do next will take longer because this is a conversation of international importance,” the department said.

This species was first described in 1874 from a lower jaw and teeth collected from the Chatham Islands, off the east coast of New Zealand. This specimen, along with the remains of two other specimens found in New Zealand and Chile, allowed scientists to confirm the existence of this species. However, due to the rarity of specimens discovered and the lack of sightings of live specimens, little is known about this species. The first specimen intact, found by a mother and a whale spotted in the Bay of Plenty in 2010, was reported by the New Zealand Ministry of Conservation, the second returned in 2017 to Gisborne, on the island of North.