FIVE THINGS ABOUT THE WORLD’S RAREST WHALE
1 WHAT IS THE WORLD’S RAREST WHALE?
Spade-toothed whales, a type of beaked whale, are the world’s rarest, with no live sightings ever recorded. No one knows how many there are, what they eat, or even where they live in the vast expanse of the southern Pacific Ocean. “We know … practically nothing” about the creatures, Hannah Hendriks, marine technical adviser for New Zealand’s Department of Conservation,
told The Associated Press.
2 SPADE-TOOTHED WHALE HISTORY
The first spade-toothed whale bones were found in 1872 on
New Zealand’s Pitt Island. Another discovery was made at an offshore island in the 1950s, and the bones of a third were found on Chile’s Robinson Crusoe Island in 1986. DNA sequencing in 2002 proved that all three specimens were of the same species — and that it was one distinct from other beaked whales. In 2010, two whole spade-toothed whales, both dead, washed up on a New
Zealand beach.
3 NEW SPECIMEN
The country’s conservation agency said Monday a creature that washed up on a South Island beach this month is believed to be a spade-toothed
whale. The five-metre-long creature was identified by its colour patterns and the shape
of its skull, beak and teeth. Only six other spade-toothed whales have ever been found, and those discovered intact on New Zealand’s North Island beaches were buried before DNA testing could verify their identification, Hendriks said.
4 STUDYING THE WHALE
If the cetacean is confirmed to be the elusive spade-toothed
whale, it would be the first specimen found in a state that would permit scientists to dissect it, allowing them to map the relationship of the whale to the few others of the species found. Researchers and local Maori tribes will plan how it will be examined, the agency said.
5 LOCAL SIGNIFICANCE
New Zealand’s Indigenous people consider whales a taonga — a sacred treasure — of cultural significance. In April, Pacific Indigenous leaders signed a treaty recognizing whales as “legal persons,” although such a declaration is not reflected in the laws of
participating countries.