Moko finally laid to rest

i am so sad that moko pasted away:( i have always wanted to swim with him. he was so friendly and every day i just though of him.

Beautiful loving send off for beautiful loving Moko Thank you to Moko;s Human Whanau

They said our Moko spent years at Mahia, well that is true and years a Whakatne, what a load of bull shit, he was there only five minutes, and they claim him and make a big issue of his death. He should of been returned to Mahia and Bill who was the first person to have contact with him and named him. Those who never met him are the small minded people. Moko was a fantastic dolphin and brought to much love and happiness. Yeah I agree with a monument to Moko. My prayers with you Bill for such a sad loss. Rest in peace our Buddy Moko, your were the best and we will always love you. Swim the seas in peace xxx

@ stupid Fred if you don't agree, you can shut up What is that? Were you born a fool or has years of non thinking made you into one? Perhaps back in the 1930s if I didn’t like the Nazi Party I would have been forced shut up. It was idiots who heeded your view and situations like the rise of National Socialism were allowed to happen. We don’t live in Nazi Germany and if we don’t like something then we are entitled to voice our views. Maybe if you don’t like it, then you should shut up.

Why did he get a proper send off? Because for some people he was more than just a dumb old dolphin, he was part of their whanau. People outside of Whakatane, Gisborne and Mahia will never understand or wont want to understand. Gang members get funerals too. I sometimes ask myself why?

We can't grieve for thousands of children who die daily from malnutrition or from forces of war.
We won’t make an active stand against a petrochemical company who has done too little too late and as a consequence an ecosystems has been seriously damaged.
And yet one dead dolphin washed up on shore has be
The death of this dolphin has used as a symbol in a political wrangle that has to do with ownership matters that go beyond the ownership of the body of a dolphin. The body should be carrion, thus completing a natural cycle of life and death.

I wonder when a monument to Moko will be built? Another piece of stone or bronze to remember something dead. New Zealand is littered with hundreds of these monuments which mean little in coming generations. It is getting ridiculous that everything and everyone should have a monument placed in every location of their life cycle.

Moko spent an extended amount of time in three different communities over the last three years. Mahia, Gisborne and Whakatane have a combined population of 54,000. Every one of those 54,000 would have been impacted by the dolphin in some way. Why, then, are you surprised that his death has impacted them also? The 'coffin' was made by a cabinetmaker and the 'funeral' is performed by iwi for most stranded whales or dolphins in our country. Those, however, don't create national interest.

Who paid for all of this? The Maori? Bet not! More than likely the porr ol tax payer!

'in keeping with the nomadic traditions of the Maori.

Moko's final journey began with a Powhiri on the beach at Matakana Island, not far from where his remains were found 10 days ago.

Because he died there, local iwi had the final say in where he was buried.'

I don't believe this! A coffin, a burial! With all this Maori stuff, why? Do the Maori want to take control of dolfins now also? From what I saw of his remains, he died at sea, not on the beach.

Indeed, Fred, this is downright ridiculous. He's simply another dolphin, simple as that, even if he did have a penchant for socializing with humans. Which is probably part of the cause of his demise.