The rarest whale in the world is the spade-toothed whale ( Mesoplodon traversii), with only seven confirmed specimens to date since first reported in the 1800s, and nobody’s ever seen one alive. All but one of them have been reported in the seas around New Zealand. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Last December saw the first-ever dissection of one after it washed ashore on New Zealand's South Island, enabling Indigenous people and conservation scientists to learn more about one of their taoka, which means "treasure" in the language of South Island Māori culture.

NZ Department of Conservation (DOC) staff turned up to investigate reports of a dead, beached whale near the small fishing village of Taieri Mouth on July 4,

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