Science · Whale strandingNgawi whale stranding: All four whales found alive have diedWritten November 5, 2026 at 8:13 AM UTCTranscript0:07All four pilot whales found alive on the rocks have died.0:10Residents estimate about fifty whales stranded along the coast, and rescuers0:15returned two living animals to the sea before losing them.0:18The rescue is over, but the full scale of the loss and what brought the whales0:23ashore are still unknown.0:25The whales came ashore overnight near Ngawi, close to Cape Palliser at the southern0:30tip of New Zealand's North Island.0:32They were found on Thursday, November5,0:35along a rugged coastline where rocks complicated the rescue.0:39Most of the stranded whales had already died when rescuers worked to save the four0:44still alive.0:45The Department of Conservation identified two pods.0:48By Thursday afternoon, the effort was focused on keeping those remaining animals0:53alive and getting them back into the water.0:55Two whales were refloated as the tide rose, but both died, along with the other two1:01animals found alive.1:03Project Jonah confirmed the loss of all four by Thursday evening.1:07Ending the effort to save them, Department of Conservation staff worked alongside1:12Project Jonah, rescuers, and marine medics.1:16Local Iwi, the area's Maori communities and Gawi volunteers also joined the1:22response.1:22It continued trying to save the living animals, despite the deaths around them.1:27Rocks surrounded the stranded whales along the Newi coast.1:31Rescuers searched several cumulators of shoreline, while some carcasses had already1:36been swept out to sea.1:38The terrain complicated both reaching the animals and counting how many had1:42stranded.1:42Rescuers kept the surviving whales wet and cool, while efforts continued to return1:48them to the sea.1:49Refloating two animals was a step in that effort, but both were among the four that1:54later died.1:58Some bodies had disappeared offshore before rescuers could complete a count.2:04That helps explain why the estimated total covers.2:07More animals than the first beach count, and why the different figures need to be2:12kept separate.2:13Residents counted about fifty whales across the affected coastline.2:18The Department of Conservation's initial count was roughly twenty animals on the2:22beach in the first pod.2:24Those figures describe different areas of the stranding, and the larger number2:28remains an estimate.2:30Early figures put at least twenty whales in the stranding.2:34A later count put deaths at least thirty.2:38Those were interim numbers as the response developed.2:41With bodies spread along the rocks and others carried offshore, nobody has given a2:47precise final total.2:48Pilot whales are highly social, and mass strandings can trap whole pods in shallow2:53coastal water.2:55The Department of Conservation said this area hadn't recorded a mass stranding since2:59the1990 s, making the losses unusual locally.3:03Nobody has explained why these whales came ashore at Ngawi.3:07Their vulnerability to mass strandings doesn't explain this particular event.3:12All four animals found alive died, including the two returned to the water.3:17While the overall number lost remains uncertain because some carcass.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
