Rare sighting of 'elusive' Arnoux's beaked whales at Scott Base in Antarctica

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Researchers at Antarctica NZ’s Scott Base were treated to a rare sighting of around 12 Arnoux’s beaked whales.

Around a dozen of the notoriously secretive whales were spotted off the shoreline, a sight that is quite rare. The last sighting near Scott Base was around five years ago.

“They made their way across the water right in front of the station, only a few kilometres offshore,” said Antarctica New Zealand science tech Jamie McGaw.

The pods were tail slapping, breaching, and “porpoising”.

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“Beaked whales are known for being incredibly elusive, so it is very exciting for the Scott Base team to be offered the rare chance to see these cryptic animals,” she said.

McGaw said the “boom” of their bodies hitting the water echoed around Pram Point on the southeastern side of Hut Point Peninsula. The animals can grow to around 10 metres in length.

“We weren’t sure exactly what type of whale they were, so the base was buzzing with discussion following the sighting,” McGaw said.

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The whales were seen “porpoising” near Scott Base in Antarctica.

The team scrambled to take photos of the whales, which were then sent to the Department of Conservation (DOC) for identification. DOC science advisor for marine species, Anton van Helden, who saw similar activity almost 10 years ago and only got “one very bad photo”, said the images were great.

“We don’t know their population size, or how they spend their lives. We are reliant on these sorts of rarely recorded events, and occasional stranded animals to try and interpret their lives,” he said.

The animals, which are the largest beaked whale species in the Southern Hemisphere, are often recorded from infrequent sightings and occasional strandings in New Zealand.

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