Main Features Compared to other species of dolphins, the Hector’s dolphin is the smallest. An adult dolphin will grow only to a length of 1.2 to 1.4, compared with that of the bottlenose dolphin who grows to 4 metres. Their bodies are also quite stocky and the female will grow to a longer length than the males. Another of their identifiable features is their rounded dorsal fin, as they are the only species from New Zealand waters with this feature.

Main Features cont. They also don’t have a bottle-shaped snout. Instead their forehead slopes down to the tip of the snout. They’re colour scheme is also different to that of other dolphin species, as it is much more defined with areas of gray, black and white. The dorsal fin, tail and flippers are all black as well as the side of its head.

Habitat The Hector’s dolphin is only found off the coast of the New Zealand. This means it is endemic to New Zealand. However, there are two separate subspecies of Hector’s Dolphin. The North Island species are called Maui’s dolphins, whereas the South species maintain the same name.

There are only about 8,000 South Island Hector’s dolphins alive in the world. They live around the coast of the South Island, but mainly around Christchurch and the West Coast. There are a small group of Maui’s dolphins who live off the coast of the North Island. Mostly between Muriwai and Kawhia. There are only 111 Maui dolphins left in the world. This makes them the world’s rarest species of dolphin. Habitat cont.

Causes of its endangered status Gillnet bycatch Trawl bycatch Tourism Pollution Habitat modification Slow reproduction rate: It takes them too long to breed, meaning they can get caught in nets before they reproduce The dolphins were used to not having to worry about predators and so weren’t able to adapt well when humans came

Strategies in place to prevent decline Conservation has been mostly focused on reducing gillnets that can catch Hector’s Dolphin. In certain areas where Hector’s Dolphins are found, gillnet and trawl fisheries have been banned to prevent the dolphin from being caught in the net. In 2008, 5 marine mammal sanctuaries were designated to manage non-fishing related threats.

What can you do? Don’t litter. Rubbish generally makes its way to the sea and the dolphins can either get tangles in it or mistake it for food. Make sure only water goes down storm water drains, nothing else. Picking up any rubbish you find at the beach to make sure it doesn’t get to the water. Volunteer or donate.

Interesting Facts The scientific name for the Hector’s dolphin is Cephalorhynchus hectori. Hector’s dolphins feed on fish and other sea creatures found in shallow water such as flounder, red cod, mackerel, crabs and squid. The Hector’s dolphin was given ‘threatened species’ status by the Department of Conservation in December 1999.

Interesting Facts cont. They use echo-location to locate their prey. Echo- location is when the dolphins send out a stream of high frequency clicking noises and when the sound strikes an object it bounces back and the dolphin can tell by listening what the object is - what kind of fish it is, how far away it is and how fast it is moving. Hector's dolphins can live up to 20 years. Most females only have four or five calves in a lifetime. Calving usually occurs between November and mid-February, and calves stay with their mothers for up to two years.

Bibliography lphin lphin ative-animals/marine- mammals/dolphins/hectors-dolphin/ ative-animals/marine- mammals/dolphins/hectors-dolphin/ ative-animals/marine- mammals/dolphins/hectors- dolphin/facts/ ative-animals/marine- mammals/dolphins/hectors- dolphin/facts/ hectors.html hectors.html 13/10/11 18/10/11 3/11/11