The jawbone of a whale found washed up on on Papamoa Beach has been taken.
The whale pictured before the jawbone was removed. Photo: Sunlive / John Howlett.
The lower jaw and ivory teeth were removed from the whale discovered along the beach towards the Kaituna Cut on Thursday.
The Department of Conservation was notified of the find about 1.30-1.45pm on Thursday, senior ranger Brad Angus said.
Members of the public told police just before 5.50pm that two males were attempting to remove the jawbone of a dead whale near Taylors Reserve.
Police were looking for two men seen leaving the eastern end of Papamoa Beach Road in a flatbed truck.
The Department of Conservation has agreed protocols with local iwi on managing marine mammal strandings and deaths. Seven iwi representatives had been notified of the whale death as the first stage of planning appropriate actions to be taken in this instance, says a police spokeswoman.
Thieves struck shortly before DOC staff and iwi representatives turned up, Mr Angus said.
"It's a criminal act, an offence under the Marine Mammals Protection Act," he said. "We are actively investigating that with police."
The whale, a young adult, was being buried on Friday afternoon. Mr Angus was not sure whether it was male or female, and did not know how it died. The whale was to be buried at an undisclosed location.
Sperm whales are rarely seen on Bay of Plenty beaches.
"It's pretty rare for us in our patch," Mr Angus said. "A mature sperm whale turn up north of Papamoa camping ground, that was probably eight odd years ago. It is not a common occurrence by any stretch.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora has banned international trade on sperm whale teeth.
