Sperm whale sighting off Haumoana and Te Awanga coast

A sperm whale sighting off the coast of Hawke’s Bay sparked a flurry of excitement for a coastal community.

Haumoana resident Bevan O’Connor was one of the locals fortunate to witness a sperm whale swimming close to the coast near Haumoana and Te Awanga on Monday evening.

“I live in a house on the beachfront in Haumoana and so could see it from the house,” he said, after being alerted to the whale sighting over social media.

“It was heading to Te Awanga so I drove down there, [but] it then turned and headed back up to Haumoana.

“So I went home and then out on to the beach to watch it for another hour or so before sunset.”

He said it was “amazing” to see, and he even got some great footage with his drone.

The sperm whale was spotted off the coast of Haumoana and Te Awanga. Photo / Bevan O'Connor

He said he had seen orca off the coast before but never a sperm whale.

“My neighbour, who has been here 20 years, said she hasn’t seen a whale in our part of the Bay while she has lived here.”

Project Jonah general manager Daren Grover confirmed it was a sperm whale.

“We have a semi-resident population of sperm whale in Kaikōura, on the east coast of the South Island, so it is not unheard of to hear of sperm whales [in the wider Hawke’s Bay area].

“In fact, there was a very large stranding in 1970 which involved 59 sperm whales at Okitu Beach [near Gisborne].”

It's not unusual for sperm whales to swim solo, and it was “highly likely” this whale sighted in Hawke Bay was a male. Photo / Michael Farr

He said it was also not unusual for sperm whales to swim solo, and it was “highly likely” the whale sighted in Hawke Bay was a male.

Sperm whales were on the verge of extinction about 50 years ago, but the population has recovered since commercial whaling was banned.

Grover said whales’ main sense is hearing, and it was recommended witnesses kept drones at least 150m away from the animals.