If you're the first person to witness or discover a stranding please report it straight away. Before phoning, make a thorough evalution of the situation. The more information you can pass on to us the better informed our decisions and response will be.
Emergency Contact Numbers:
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DOC: 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468)
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Project Jonah: 0800 4 WHALE (0800 4 94253)
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If all else fails dial 111 and inform the Police. They will then contact us or the Department of Conservation.
When you phone in:
- Give your name and your contact phone number. Stay by the phone if possible so that you can be contacted again if more information is required
- Give your location, including directions to the site, points of reference etc
- How many dolphins or whales are there? Do you know the species? If not, then describe the animals
- Give an approximate length of the biggest animals and describe their colour patterns
- How many animals have stranded and how many are alive? Just one, or is there a mother and calf pair?
- Are they all up on the beach, or are there others in the water? Are there any dead ones on the beach?
- What are the sea conditions like? Is the sea calm? Or is the sea rough with breakers inshore, white caps at sea?
- What is the state of the tide? Full, half, outgoing or incoming?
Follow the instructions given to you over the phone.
While you're waiting for help to arrive:
Do
- Keep the animal cool by pouring water gently over its body, focusing on the fins and tail flukes
- Cover the animal with towels or sheets (even seaweed) - keep these wet
- Move any animals lying on their sides into an upright position. Dig a shallow impression alongside the animal and roll them gently upright into the indentation
- Dig trenches under the flippers to relieve cramping
- Keep the stranding site as quiet as possible
- Keep noisy children and barking dogs away
Don't
- Cover or pour water down the blowhole
- Step on, near or over the tail
- Stand directly in front of the animal's head
- Pull the animal by its tail
- Shout or make loud noises
- Drag or roll the animal to water
Click here to download your own stranding poster. Help us educate others by posting these up in your local community.
