Up to 145 pilot whales have stranded and died on a remote beach on Stewart Island over the weekend.
A tramper camping in the area hiked to a nearby field base to report the stranding to DOC at 10.30pm on Saturday.
DOC Rakiura operations manager Ren Leppens says that half the whales had already died by the time they were found.
Due to the condition of the remaining whales and the difficult to access location, the decision was made to euthanise the remainder.
“Sadly, the likelihood of being able to successfully re-float the remaining whales was extremely low. The remote location, lack of nearby personnel and the whales’ deteriorating condition meant the most humane thing to do was to euthanise.
“However, it’s always a heart-breaking decision to make.”
The two pods were stranded at the southern end of Mason Bay, approximately two kilometres apart.
DOC has notified local Ngāi Tahu and they are working together on what to do next.
The factors that lead to a dolphin or whale stranding can include sickness, being chased by a predator, navigational error, a rapidly falling tide or extreme weather.
A number of strandings have occurred on New Zealand shores over the weekend, but the events are unlikely to be related.
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