![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/220326SLSPWhale03.jpg\")
The public are reminded there are a 30-metre exclusion zone around Mauao that\u00a0applies to all vessels, paddleboarders and people. Photo \/ Stuart James<\/p>\nThe public is being reminded of the 30-metre exclusion zone extending from the base of Mauao, following curiosity from paddleboarders about a dead whale that stranded there.<\/p>\n
The whale, that beached in Pilot Bay in the Tauranga harbour, and later at the base of Mauao, has been euthanised.<\/p>\n
Mount Maunganui locals first reported seeing the mammal on Friday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe animal at the base of Mauao is a 4-metre-long Gray\u2019s beaked whale,\u201d Department of Conservation Tauranga Project Lead John Heaphy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was first reported to DoC on Friday morning having stranded at Pilot Bay. There was an attempt by members of the public to refloat the animal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heaphy said the whale re-stranded soon after on the harbour side of Mauao.<\/p>\n
\u201cDoC staff attended along with Ng\u0101i Te Rangi, Tauranga City Council and geotechnical experts due to concerns about land stability at the site,\u201d Heaphy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDue to the deteriorating condition of the whale, DoC made the humane decision to euthanise the animal.<\/p>\n
\u201cNg\u0101i Te Rangi have carried out karakia and our collective focus now turns to planning for burial of the animal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Heaphy said that with the current r\u0101hui on Mauao, a suitable burial plan still needs to be determined.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s our work for the next day or two, given the logistical challenges,\u201d Heaphy said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe public are currently not permitted to access the site. We strongly advise people not to go near the beach or the deceased animal out of respect for the r\u0101hui and to ensure their own safety.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a r\u0101hui on both Mauao itself and the water surrounding the base of the maunga.\u201d<\/p>\n
The public are reminded there are a 30-metre exclusion zone around Mauao that\u00a0applies to all vessels, paddleboarders and people. Photo \/ Stuart James<\/p>\n
Local kayaker Stuart James was out fishing on Friday when he saw the response team at the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was about 3.30pm on Friday, at low tide. There were a number of people on the beach, with two inflatables,\u201d James said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was still alive at that point; its tail was flipping up and down. When I first saw it, I thought it was an overturned kayak and wondered what the kerfuffle was on the beach. Then I could see they [DoC team] were tending to it. They put some blankets over it and were ferrying water backwards and forwards, I guess trying to keep it alive.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not allowed to be any closer than 30 metres from Mauao, but I could see it had a bit of blood on it, so we wondered if it had been chasing stingrays, injured itself chasing something, or was sick.\u201d<\/p>\n
In January, two beaked whales washed up in Napier<\/a> on consecutive days and have since been buried.<\/p>\n Beaked whales are a little-known group of whales named for their dolphin-like beak. New Zealand is a hotspot with 13 of the 24 known species being found here, according to the Department of Conservation website<\/a>.<\/p>\n Gray\u2019s beaked whale, also known as hakur\u0101, is the most common stranding beaked whale species in New Zealand.<\/p>\n DoC is responsible for managing strandings. When a stranded whale or dolphin dies, or when they are washed up already deceased, DoC works with tangata whenua and research partners to take information and samples to help better understand them.<\/p>\n Report injured, stranded, or dead whales to the DoC emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468<\/a>). The public can also\u202freport a sighting online<\/a>.<\/p>\n Due to the risk of landslip and the associated maritime safety risks around Mauao\/Mount Maunganui following a storm and landslide tragedy in January, a 30-metre exclusion zone has been put in place by the Bay of Plenty Regional Harbourmaster.\u00a0<\/p>\n The exclusion zone applies to all vessels, paddleboarders and people and is 30 metres from the base\/shore of Mauao.\u00a0<\/p>\n Regional Harbourmaster Jon Jon Peters asks all vessels to keep clear of the zone until further notice, unless they are required to carry out police or civil defence operations, or have the approval of the Harbourmaster.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The public is being reminded of the 30-metre exclusion zone extending from the base of Mauao, following curiosity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":341963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[111,139,69,147,406],"class_list":["post-341962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wildlife","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/341963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/140126hbtstranding1-(1).jpg\")
A dead\u00a0beaked\u00a0whale\u00a0being removed from near Nelson Quay,\u00a0Napier in January, 2026. Photo \/\u00a0Sarah Paroli<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/220326SLSPMauaoExclusion01-(1).jpg\")
The exclusion zone around Mauao. Image \/ Supplied<\/p>\n