The bones of two whales washed up on a Northland beach have been removed and their remains will be buried.
The marine mammals, believed to be rare pygmy right whales, were found dead on Taupō Bay on Monday morning by locals who notified the Department of Conservation.
A female about 5m long and a calf measuring 2m were about 500m apart with the adult at the mid-point of the bay and the calf at the southern end.
At a meeting between DoC and local iwi, it was decided to flense the whales and to wait for the next high tide between 4pm and 5pm today to wash the mammals away.
However, environment group He-Manu-Taupunga led by Hori Parata removed the bones, before the high tide.