New Zealand Whales and Dolphins
Baleen Whales
Baleen Whales
Southern Right Whale
Balaena glacialis australis
The Right Whale was highly favoured by early New Zealand whalers (hence the name ‘right’) because it was slow, buoyant when dead, and provided much oil and long baleen. It was hunted almost to extinction and is now protected. Less than twenty specimens have been reported in New Zealand waters over the past forty-three years.
Pygmy Right Whale
Caperea marginata
The skeleton of the Pygmy Right Whale is rather strange in that it has more ribs than any other whale, and the ribs are very flattened. It has been suggested that this skeletal structure enables the whale to lie on the ocean floor without squashing its viscera. The Pygmy Right is known only from Australia, New Zealand and South America, and its rarity has precluded commercial exploitation.
Minke Whale
Balaenoptera acutorostrata
After the Pygmy Right Whale, the Minke Whale is the smallest baleen whale — it grows to about 30ft. The shape of the Minke is similar to that of the Finner but it is relatively stouter for its length. The snout is fairly deep, and there is a small hooked dorsal fin well back towards the tail. The throat grooves stop well short of the navel and in fact hardly pass the level of the tips of the flippers.
Thirteen specimens have stranded on the New Zealand coast but the species has not been hunted commercially here. As the stocks of large rorquals in the South Pacific decreases, more attention is being given to hunting the Minke Whale. Because it is one of the smallest baleen whales, there are considerable technical and economic problems involved in using it commercially. Japanese whalers, however, are investigating these problems, and the Minke will probably become an important commercial species before long.
Sei Whale
Balaenoptera borealis schlegeli
The Sei Whale has a large, hooked dorsal fin compared to other baleen whales, and grows to about 60ft. The flippers are particularly small, and the throat grooves do not run as far back as the navel. This whale is usually bluish-grey coloured on the back and lighter page 21 underneath. The area of the throat grooves is white, whereas the remaining hind portion of the animal grades into bluish-grey again. The lower jaw is also dark. Occasionally the white ventral area is reduced to a large spot or narrow streak. The undersides of the flippers vary from white to grey and the flukes are light grey. The fine white fringe of the black baleen plates is noticeably silky in texture. Some white plates may occur beneath the snout.
Bryde's Whale
Balaenoptera edeni
In New Zealand, Bryde's Whale seems to be fairly common north of East Cape, and it may make seasonal migrations up and down the northern coast on the way to and from the subtropics. The whaling station at Great Barrier Island caught a number of these whales during 1956-61.
Southern Fin Whale
Balaenoptera physalus quoyi
The Fin Whale has not been hunted by New Zealand whalers, but like the Blue has been an important species in the antarctic whaling industry. It is occasionally seen by fishermen in Cook Strait, or off the South Island, but the main migration route between Antarctica and the tropics is probably well offshore. There is a fully articulated skeleton of a 55ft Fin Whale on display in the Otago Museum, Dunedin.
Southern Blue Whale
Balaenoptera musculus intermedia
This 100ft giant has a long flattish mouth with jet-black baleen plates, and a long low forehead which fits between the two lower jaws when the mouth is closed. It has up to 100 throat grooves extending backwards beyond the navel, and a low triangular dorsal fin placed well back on the body. The colour is dark slate blue over the head and back, with paler patches sometimes on the sides and belly. The belly is often covered by a yellowish film of diatoms — a feature which gave rise to the early whaler's name for the Blue Whale of ‘Sulphur Bottom.’
page 23There have been eight strandings of Blue Whales on the New Zealand coast, the most celebrated of which was the 87ft specimen which came ashore at Okarito, South Westland, in 1908. After attempts by locals to make a fortune from the carcass, it was flensed on the beach and shipped, with considerable difficulty and hardship for passengers, to Lyttleton via Greymouth and Wellington. The skeleton travelled to its final resting place in the Canterbury Museum by horse and cart.