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Story: Whales

Beached Shepherd’s beaked whale

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Beached Shepherd’s beaked whale

This whale was stranded at Ōteranga Bay, south-west of Wellington, in September 1998. As the photo shows, beaked whales have a pronounced forehead and small flippers which sit in pockets.

Using this item

Department of Conservation

Reference: 10041750

by Peter Simpson

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How to cite this page

Gerard Hutching, Whales – Beaked whales, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/7103/beached-shepherds-beaked-whale (accessed 24 June 2026).

Story by Gerard Hutching, published 2 March 2009.