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Kōrero: Whales

Whales in New Zealand waters

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Whales in New Zealand waters

This map shows the distribution of the Bryde’s whale, the sperm whale and the southern right whale. The right whale was once very common around New Zealand but is now largely confined to the Auckland and Campbell islands. Also shown are the migration routes of the humpback whale. It moves from the Antarctic up the coasts of New Zealand to tropical waters around Tonga, and then back down again. The route through Cook Strait is now only rarely used.

Te whakamahi i tēnei tūemi

Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Source: Geoffrey J. Cox, Whale watch: a guide to New Zealand’s whales and dolphins. Auckland: William Collins, 1990; and Rob Svisted and Nadine Gibbs, Areas of special significance for marine mammals in New Zealand. Poster. Wellington: Department of Conservation, 1999.

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Ngā whakaahua me ngā rauemi katoa o tēnei kōrero

Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Gerard Hutching, Whales – Whales in New Zealand, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/map/7052/whales-in-new-zealand-waters (accessed 1 July 2026).

He kōrero nā Gerard Hutching, i tāngia i te 2 March 2009.