Monday 6th to Tuesday 7th August – Time to put my Project Jonah training to use

Monday 6^th August – My first experience of a whale stranding with Project Jonah.

We’d seen on the news on Sunday that there was a whale stranding incident in the Northland. Two humpback whales were stuck on the sand at Baylys Beach near Dargaville and emergency services were on scene along with Project Jonah, the Department of Conservation (DOC) and a whole crowd of concerned members of the public.  I hadn’t received a text call out from Project Jonah, they probably weren’t calling out volunteers from south of Auckland.  But they wouldn’t know that I was heading north to Bird rescue in the morning. A quick calculation helped me work out that is would still be another couple of hours drive north to the whales’ location.  This could be the only chance I get to be involved in something like this. All the other strandings I’ve seen in the media tend to be on the South Island.  I may not have been called upon but what was my training for if I didn’t get to use it? I had got all my equipment ready on Sunday night, including my wetsuit and a duvet and pillow in case of an overnight stay.

Getting up for my shift at bird rescue I bundled everything into my car and made it to Green Bay on time for 8am.  They really seem to be struggling to get enough volunteers lately at bird rescue so there was no way I would leave them short. But as I got started with my duties both Managers turned up, one of the admin staff and then THREE more people!  It was overcrowded.  I approached the bosses and explained that I wanted to go and help with the whale rescue and would they mind me leaving early seeing as they had so much help today!  They were fine with that. I think they both would have rather been going to get involved too! In the end I was only there for an hour before I jumped back in my car, plotted the route into my phone and hit the road north.

I broke up the journey by stopping for lunch, planning ahead for the evening by buying a footlong sandwich from Subway – half for lunch, half for dinner wherever I may be! I wasn’t sure exactly where I needed to head but as I arrived at the nearest tarmacked road to Baylys Beach I spotted a couple off other Jonah volunteers.  They had seen a coordinator who’d told them that, unless you had a four-wheel drive, this was the closest point to park and then the whales were a couple of kilometres up the beach.  I made use of the last public toilet and changing rooms I’d be seeing today and donned my wetsuit and boots. Deciding carefully what equipment I needed, I packed my smaller rucksack and put my raincoat on as it started to rain just as I headed off on foot. It was 1pm by that time.  There seemed to have been plenty of people arriving, but when I could’ve really done with a lift along the beach everyone seemed to be heading in the opposite direction!  It took me twenty-five minutes to trudge along the sand and reach the site.  This is my view as I approached: 

No sign of any whales through the drizzle and spray....

Ah, found them! A crowd watched as two diggers dug a trench in the sand around the whales

A sad sight - staff from Project Jonah take a closer look at the juvenile whale that passed away that morning

On arrival I discovered that the young calf humpback had passed away earlier that morning (above). So, all the attention was focussed on the mother who was now surrounded by water as the tide started to come in.  High tide was due to be about 5pm that day.  It didn’t seem like there was any specific signing in point to let PJ know I was there, so I threw on my high-vis vest over my wetsuit and went to see what I could do.  I was temporarily distracted when I noticed the truck from The Rock, our favourite Kiwi radio station, roll up on the beach.  I got to meet Thane and Dunc from the drivetime show who had turned up to give out some of their latest invention – cheeseburger pies. I didn't try one... just imagine the calories!!

Above: I was happy to meet Thane and Dunc but, below, we took a moment to think about the young whale that hadn't made it

I didn’t hang around with them very long as I wanted to get involved with the rescue. It turned out that there was almost nothing I could do.  The whale was so large that it had been judged too dangerous for anyone to be in the water with her. Just a wave or a change in current could easily cause somebody to be crushed under her weight. Instead, diggers had been brought in and they were busy carving trenches as deep as possible in an arc around the whale. The plan with this was to allow the incoming tide to create as deep a pool as possible around the whale to give her more support.  The rest would then be up to her.

I ended up on cordon control, keeping the crowds of public well-wishers back a reasonable distance from the breaking waves. I thought by leaving the Police I’d also be leaving that behind me!  Most people were very concerned and obedient but there was an undercurrent of tension. All decisions about how to try and save the whale had to be discussed between the vet, scientists, fire crews, Project Jonah and the local Iwi (Maori community).  And some of the locals had asked volunteers what we thought we were doing on THEIR beach! On the other hand, there was an army of locals who had arranged a gazebo with tea, coffee and water being handed out to volunteers for free and later in the day we were offered soup, rolls and even cake to keep us going. 

Above - piles of and were created by the diggers, but, below, the incoming tide made fast work of washing them away in no time, leaving the adult whale to do all of the work herself.

As high tide approached we were all helplessly watching and just willing the stricken whale to catch a large wave to give her the momentum she needed to get free.  She was trying. There was regular movement of her tail fluke and pectoral fins.  Maori have a very close spiritual relationship with whales and so become very emotionally involved at an incident such as this. One lady was singing a haunting pretty song to the whale with the aim of relaxing her. I tried to video this, you can just about hear it over the sound of the crashing waves:

Nearing the time for the tide to turn there was sudden movement on the beach as people in wet-suits got in a huddle and started discussing some action.  I went to find out what was going on but ended up being given a new job – monitoring the whale’s breathing pattern.  Well, this was far more of a challenge than I could have imagined. You’d think it would be easy to see the jet of air and water being exhaled from her blowhole. But with a stranded whale taking very shallow breaths whilst being rolled around by crashing waves it was nearly impossible. The results were inconsistent to say the least. And that was before the attempt to redirect the whale occurred! Basically, as a last gasp attempt, the powers that be had agreed for a team of strong swimmers to attempt to loop a makeshift harness around the whale’s tail and for a squad of 30-40 people on the end of the rope to attempt to slowly swing her around to face out to sea.

A team cautiously approach the whale's tail in an attempt to redirect her out to sea

I was glad not to be involved to be honest. Everyone had the best intentions at heart but, with a lack of coordination down the length of the rope, some of the team were pulling at the same time the other half were feeding the rope out.  The timing never matched the incoming waves and unfortunately it made no difference whatsoever to the whale’s position. Meanwhile, I had been writing down the time between each of the whale’s breaths – sometimes a minute and a half would pass, and I would start to panic that she had died but then she would take one breath and then a second one after only 20 seconds.  

The tide started to go out and sunset was close. The fire service held a debrief on the beach thanking everyone for their help and support and saying that the whale’s condition would continue to be monitored. A discussion was held between Project Jonah and their volunteers. Security would be keeping an eye on the whale overnight and we could stay if we wanted.  A local campsite was even offering space in spare rooms for free. However, the mood was sombre, and they felt that they wouldn’t need many volunteers the next day.  I had gone up there ready and willing to stay into Tuesday. However, I had my reality hat on. After two full days of struggle on the beach and the tide due to be even lower the next day, I knew in my heart that today had been the best chance for the whale to get free and, sadly, it wasn’t to be.  I felt sorry for those who had been there for the full 48 hours who must have been completely exhausted, but I agreed with another volunteer who said, ‘I don’t want to stay overnight just to wait to see the whale get shot’. Rumour had it that a trained marksman was already on the way and to be honest, by then, I was thinking the whale may be relieved for her struggle to be over too.  What finally swayed me was when a fellow volunteer I had befriended offered me a lift back to my car.  I was sold.  We made our peace with the whale, sorrowfully collected our belongings together and set off back along the sand.

Our chariot back along the sand

I got changed back into some comfy warm clothes and set off on my three and a quarter hour journey home. Yes, I did eat the other half of that subway and needed to stop for some coffee on the way back!  I was exhausted as I unloaded all my sandy gear in the dark about 930pm. I’m going to need more stamina than that to help at the next three-day stranding. Let’s hope that is a long way off for the whales’ sake.

Tuesday 7^th August – Whale update

As soon as I awoke I checked for an update on the whale. She was still alive and being tended to. I felt a pang of guilt. I’d left too soon when other exhausted Samaritans were still persevering, maybe there had still been hope for the whale after all and I’d given up on her prematurely? There was no way I was driving all the way back, so I kept myself occupied by heading to the gym for a workout.  Straight after my class I was back on my phone. This time I saw the news I had expected – the official decision had been made to euthanise the whale imminently to stop her suffering.  Of course, there was an outcry of emotion and disappointment in the press, but I felt relieved in the knowledge that she didn’t have to struggle to keep breathing much longer and the distress would soon be over for her. What a sad ending to the tragic incident.

The fact that I hadn’t stayed overnight meant that I made my shift at the SPCA contact centre that afternoon which was a good way to get my mind back to reality after my alternative start to the week.