{"id":855519,"date":"2026-08-12T16:02:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:02:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/855519\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T16:02:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:02:15","slug":"huge-pygmy-blue-whale-washes-up-dead-on-west-coast-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/855519\/","title":{"rendered":"Huge pygmy blue whale washes up dead on West Coast beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

A huge pygmy blue whale, measuring over 20 metres, washed up dead on a West Coast beach yesterday. <\/p>\n

According to Project Jonah New Zealand, the marine mammal was found beachcast at Carters Beach near Westport. <\/p>\n

It said the whale measured 21.7 metres in length and was estimated to weigh around 20 tonnes. <\/p>\n

Its cause of death was unknown, and tissue samples have been taken for future research. <\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

People watch on after a pygmy blue whale washed up on a West Coast beach. (Source: Don & Ali Parish Photography) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Photographer Ali Parish was at the beach to take photos of the animal, saying she “couldn’t help but shed a tear”. <\/p>\n

“Seeing one up close is an incredibly rare experience,” she said on Facebook. “Such a magnificent and gentle giant of the ocean, lying helpless on the beach, it was a heartbreaking sight.” <\/p>\n

Project Jonah said the Department of Conservation was working with local iwi to observe tikanga and determine the next steps for the whale. <\/p>\n

“This is a significant animal and a sobering reminder of the incredible marine life found in New Zealand’s waters,” the organisation said. <\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The whale was estimated to be more than 20-metres long. (Source: Don & Ali Parish Photography) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

Pygmy blue whales are a slightly smaller subspecies of true blue whales, the largest living animal on Earth. While they are only a few metres shorter, true blue whales are much heavier. <\/p>\n

Despite what their name suggests, pygmy blue whales can reach up to 24 metres in length. <\/p>\n

They can be found in oceans around the world. According to researchers in the US, New Zealand has its own “genetically distinct” population of more than 700 blue whales. <\/p>\n

DOC said blue whales can be found around New Zealand and beyond, the south Taranaki Bight a “significant feeding ground”.<\/p>\n

Pygmy blue whales are solitary creatures, and typically swim alone \u2013 aside from mothers who are accompanied by their calves. <\/p>\n

\"It<\/p>\n

It was estimated the whale weighed 20 tonnes. (Source: Don & Ali Parish Photography) (Source: Supplied)<\/p>\n

The whales eat krill and other small fish, ingesting 1800 kilograms of food every day. <\/p>\n

Like blue whales, their numbers were decimated by the whaling industry. Their biggest current threats include noise pollution, climate change, and ship strike. <\/p>\n

In New Zealand, it is an offence to disturb, harass, harm, injure or kill a whale, carrying a maximum penalty of two years\u2019 imprisonment or a fine of $250,000. <\/p>\n

Marine mammal strandings can be reported to DOC’s emergency hotline. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A huge pygmy blue whale, measuring over 20 metres, washed up dead on a West Coast beach yesterday.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":855520,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[2837,49,48,295,66,168197,323],"class_list":["post-855519","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-animals","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-environment","tag-science","tag-west-coast","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855519","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855519"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855519\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}