Long ago, kauri and whales lived together on the land as brothers. When whales moved into the sea, they retained their bark-like skin, just like their brothers the kauri. It's believed that when they swim near shore it's to call out to their brothers the kauri, and sometimes they get too close and end up beached, as happened with Rehua.
When Rehua washed ashore in 2004 the sand covered his body and dissolved it over time, leaving this incredible jawbone. Can you imagine how big he was?