Wed, 16 Dec 2009 2:09p.m.
Moko the dolphin has some competition for the limelight with one of the world’s rarest dolphins having been filmed frolicking with fisherman off the Taranaki coast.
The Maui’s dolphin has not been seen along the Taranaki’s west coast for 20 years; but swam up to the fisherman’s boat of the Waiongana River, near the New Plymouth Airport.
The dolphin is a sub-species of the Hector’s dolphin, and is incredibly rare – only about 100 of them are thought to exist.
Ray O’Connell shot the footage of the Maui’s dolphin on his cellphone last Wednesday, around a kilometre from shore near the Waiongana River mouth, late in the afternoon.
“I had to learn how to use my camera in a big hurry,” Ray O’Connell told the Taranaki Daily News.
“We’d just gone out to drop off a couple of craypots, and he came right up. He came looking for us; we didn’t go looking for him.
“He was so friendly; I've never seen anything like it. It's the only one I've seen in 40 years out there."
The dolphin played near the boat for about 15 minutes, swimming under the nose, and Mr O'Donnell's son Kayel was even able to lean out and touch the small mammal.
"He was buzzing. I said to him 'you'll probably never see this again in your life'."
Mr O’Connell then called DOC and showed them the footage; he then joined the DOC officers on a helicopter scout of the area, however they were not able to spot the dolphin.
DOC Marine Ranger Callum Lilley said the mammal was distinctive because of its size – they grow to only 1.7m – the crescent-shaped mark over its blowhole, and the rounded "Mickey Mouse" style of dorsal fin, which was clearly visible in the footage.
"That footage gave us a positive ID. We have a bit of a checklist for things we go through to confirm sightings."
He said DOC would appreciate information from anyone who sees Naki or something which could be a Maui's dolphin.
DOC records show the last time a Maui's dolphin was found off Taranaki was in 1989.
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