Extremely Rare Beaked Whales Spotted Off New Zealand Coast.

This is the very first time the rare Shepherd's Beaked Whales have been spotted in New Zealand waters.

In late June, researchers spotted an extremely rare group of Shepherd's Beaked Whales in New Zealand waters off the coast of the city of Dunedin in the South Island. This is the very first time the species, one of the least known cetaceans in the world, has ever been seen in the area.
Previously, the Shepherd's Beaked Whale (Tasmacetus shepherdii) was only known from nine confirmed sightings and 55 strandings of dead whales.

The whales were spotted twice during a survey expedition of the submarine canyons off the Otago coast, which was led by Dr. Will Rayment from the University of Otago's Department of Marine Science. Dr. Rayment's team included researchers from Otago University, Yellow-eyed Penguin Trust, Otago Museum, Parker Conservation and the Ornithological Society of NZ.

"There have previously been no confirmed sightings in New Zealand waters, although New Zealand is the world's stranding hotspot for the species," Dr. Rayment said in a statement.

The first group of five beaked whales was spotted on June 28 in the Taiaroa Canyon, about 30 km east of Taiaroa Head. The next day, the team made another sighting of the rare species, this time a group of three in the Saunders Canyon. Both sightings were later confirmed as Shepherd's Beaked Whales by Anton van Helden, NZ's beaked whale expert.

"The team saw a range of seabird and marine mammal species, but the highlight was undoubtedly the two sightings of this rare and elusive whale," Dr. Rayment added. "Although we suspected that the Otago Canyons would be good habitat for deep diving odontocetes such as sperm whales and beaked whales, nobody had really been out to have a proper look. We were delighted that our suspicions were confirmed, and to make two sightings of these whales is really exciting. The species is very rarely sighted, and we saw two groups in two days! It shows that the Otago coast and the canyons just offshore is very important habitat for marine mammals."

The most recent sightings will be included in a review paper that will be produced by a collaboration of researchers from the Otago Museum, Otago University and the Department of Conservation.
The surveys are being funded by a University of Otago Research Grant to Dr. Will Rayment.