Browsing: Dolphins

Today, WWF-New Zealand officially launched the Māui Dolphin Challenge, a fundraising campaign to save one of New Zealand’s most endangered and beloved animals. The campaign challenges New Zealanders to fundraise by pledging to do something involving the number 63. Whether it’s walking 63 kilometres or picking up 63 kilograms of rubbish, people across the country are already signing up to take part in creative fundraising challenges.

Māui’s dolphin, a subspecies of Hector’s dolphin found off the west coast of the North Island, is the rarest marine dolphin and has approximately just 63 individuals remaining in the wild. This critically endangered dolphin needs all the help it can get to recover from fisheries bycatch.

It’s unnerving to think that each year, hundreds of whales and dolphins strand on the shores of New Zealand. In fact, New Zealand has the highest stranding rate in the world. Some are sick or injured; others are perfectly healthy and need a helping hand back into the water. 300 strand in New Zealand each year and mass stranding can also be common, which can involve 100s of animals at a time. But if you were to see a beached whale how many of us actually know how to help these magnificent marine mammals get back to the water?

Nikki Fothergill is a Project Jonah Marine Mammal Medic who is studying for a Diploma in Marine Studies at the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic in Tauranga. For her second-year project she surveyed the New Zealand public to measure the level of awareness of Māui dolphins and their plight.