A necropsy will be carried out to determine the cause of the orca’s death.
Photo: RNZ / Rhonywn Newson
A young orca that washed ashore on an Auckland beach early Monday morning is being examined to determine its cause of death.
Department of Conservation (DOC) biodiversity ranger Nikki Grist said DOC staff, iwi, police, and scientists worked together at Ōrewa Beach to remove the orca before high tide.
“The tide was coming in, so you do always have to consider the tide times. But we were able to get out there and get the orca onto the tray of the car before the tide got too close.”
Grist said the newborn female orca was about two metres long and between three and six months old.
Ngāti Manuhiri performed a karakia and it was taken to Massey University’s Cetacean Pathology Unit in Auckland, where it was being studied to find out how it died
.
A baby orca stranded on the beach at Orewa on Monday 4 May 2025.
Photo: RNZ / Rhonwyn Newson
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.