A rare spade-toothed whale washed ashore a New Zealand beach in 2024 (Credit: NZ Department of Conservation/ CC-BY-SA-.2.0)

When a giant, dolphin-like animal washed ashore a beach in Otago, New Zealand, locals alerted the Department of Conservation (DOC). Upon arrival, the experts realized the 16-foot (5-meter) mammal was no dolphin. It was a spade-toothed whale, the rarest whale species known to science.