A large whale which beached on Golden Bay, at the top of the South Island, on Friday has died.
Project Jonah volunteers rushed to the scene on Friday afternoon, finding what is believed to be a sei whale several metres long lying on the beach.
"There are concerns about the whale's health and it is showing signs of poor condition," the group wrote on its Facebook page.
"The tide is coming in and water will be around the whale soon so no further help is needed at this stage."
"Late in the evening, just before 10pm, that whale did die," Daren Grover, general manager of Project Jonah.
DoC staff and local iwi were with the whale when it died.
Sei whales are close relatives of the blue whale, and can grow up to 19m long.
Grover said it wasn't clear yet what caused the whale to beach.
"Without a formal necropsy we might not know for sure the reason why the whale died. Usually when a marine mammal like this comes to shore, there's going to be at least one reason for it."
Grover said it was sad to see a "magnificent creature" die.
"We are quite limited in how we can help them."
The carcass will be blessed by local iwi, he said, before a decision is made on where and how it's buried.
