A lone bottlenose dolphin was located swimming in the upper reaches of the Whangarei Estuary.

A young Minke whale was found alive on the beach amid pounding surf on the West coast of Northland.  Taken to a safe location on the East coast for release, a vet determined it was too young to survive.

Originally stranded on the unforgiving sharp volcanic rocks of Rangitoto Island, a pod of pilot whales restranded on a popular family beach at Auckland City.

Multiple mass strandings of pilot whales over two days had rescues taxed to the limit.  Despite this, many animals were able to be saved.

A second stranding within minutes of the first, but kilometers away, set the rescuers scrambling to respond yet again to help the whales.

Twenty-eight pilot whales came ashore at Tokerau Beach, but unfortunately nine of them died.  One of the key whales was found to be pregnant with a near-full term foetus.

One of Northlands remotest beaches was host to a mass pilot whale stranding.  With whales piled on top of each other, a hot sunny day and blinding white sand all added to make this rescue difficult.

Pounding surf conditions prevented stranded pilot whales from being refloated at Shipwrecks Bay.  Rescue involved trucking the whales overland from one side of the country to the other.  The dramatic rescue took more than two days, but eventually 14 individuals were saved.

Over 140 long-finned pilot whales stranded inside the shallow and extensive harbour of Tryphena, on Great Barrier Island.  The key to the successful rescue of so many individuals was the presence of the New Zealand military during exercises and their willingness to help the whales.