Panda of the Dolphin World

Hectors Dolphin
Aimee Gawroniak
Extinct and Threatened Life, Fall 2013
Professor Arndt
11/13/14

Table of Contents
I. Introduction
i. Taxonomy

II. Physical Characteristics

III. Ecology
i. Behavior
ii. Diet

IV. Life History

V. Population Status
VI. Threats
i. Coastal gill-nets
ii. Boat Traffic
iii. Pollution

VII. Conservation
i. Dawson and Slooten
ii. Issues

VIII. Mauis Dolphin

IX. Bibliography................................................................................................................................

Panda of the Dolphin World

ii

Extinct and Threatened Life, Fall 2013

Professor Arndt
11/13/14

Panda of the Dolphin World

Hectors Dolphin

Introduction
Sir James Hector, an internally renowned Scottish
geologist and explorer, on a geological survey of New
Zealand in the early 1870s, discovered the Hectors
dolphin. The Hectors dolphin is the worlds smallest and
Suspendisse potenti.

most rare dolphin in the world. With its subspecies, the

Mauis dolphin, with only 55 known specimens in the wild! This precious species is rapidly
approaching extinction mainly due to mans encroachment on its home. Its size and
distinctive black and white markings have earned it the title of panda of the dolphin world,
which portrays its lovable, almost cuddly qualities and, like the panda, deserves to be saved
too.
Taxonomy

Order: Cetartiodactyla
Family: Delphinindae
Genus: Celphalorhynchus
Species: Hectori

Panda of the Dolphin World

Physical Characteristics
Smallest of the Delphinindae family, a mature adult has a total length of 4ft-5ft and
weight of 88-132lb. The species is dipolocally, which means that the female are slightly
bigger than the males. The body is stocky and tornado shaped, which becomes narrow
towards the tail. The flippers are small and rounded. A unique characteristic of the Hectors
dolphin is its rounded dorsal fins, which look like Mickey Mouse ears.
The Hectors dolphin has a very elegant appearance with a complex combination of
black, gray and white coloring. The sides and back are light grey and the underside is a
creamy white. The large tail, flukes, flippers and dorsal fin are all black. A black marking
extends from the snout back around the eyes reaching to the flipper.

Ecology
The Hectors dolphin has a preference for shallow, coastal waters. It is often seen
close to shore, although in the winter it has been sighted further from the coast in shallow
areas, most likely following its prey. Between November and February, the dolphins move
into sheltered waters of New Zealand peninsula to breed. This is also the time that
commercial fisherman will bring there nets close to shore to follow the, also breeding,
dogfish and elephant fish. This is when most by catch of Hectors dolphin occur.
Behavior

A pod of Hectors dolphin usually consists of two to eight individuals. Like many of
the Delphinindae family, the Hectors dolphin shows a wide range of behaviors. Some of
these behaviors include jumps, lob tails, weed carrying and bubble blowing. It has also
been known to boride on the wake created by boats at slow speeds. Their society is often

Panda of the Dolphin World

described as fission-fusion, in which small groups frequently come together, mingle and
then split up. Interactions among individuals are crucial for the dolphins development.
Courtship among the Hectors dolphin is an elaborate process involving various displays of
acrobatics and spins. They will also chase one another around and show their bellies.
Unlike most dolphin The Hectors dolphin does not make any whistle noises and has
a simple vocal repertoires, which consist almost completely on ultrasonic clicks, which are
used not only for communication but also echolocation. Echolocation, also known as bio
sonar, is a technique of using sound waves to detect where objects are in space. It can be
used to locate food or avoid predators, even in complete darkness.
Diet

The Hectors dolphin is a generalist feeder. It bases its prey on size rather than
species. The dolphin will spend most of its time making short dives (less than 90 sec) to
the sea floor for fish. They will also feed close to the surface if an opportunity presents
itself. Some examples of its prey include schooling fish such as yellow-eyed mullet and
kahawai. It has also been know to go after mid water species like arrow squid and a wide
variety of benthis fish including ahuru, red cod, and stargazer.

Life History
The maximum age observed age for a female is 19 years and for a male it is around
20. A male will attain sexual maturity between five and nine years, while a female will have
their first calf between seven and nines years of age. They do not pair for life, but mate
frequently. No more than half of mature females have a calf in any one-year and the calving
interval is two to four years. One female will produce on average 4 calves in its lifetime. The
Panda of the Dolphin World

average gestation period is approximately one year. Calves are born during late spring and
summer. It is weaned after around six months and will stay with its mother for one to two
years. Their maximum population growth rate (without any human impacts) is about 2%

Population Status
The Hectors dolphin is found only in New Zealand. The North Island Hectors
dolphin and the South Island Hectors dolphin are separate subspecies. The North Island
population is called the Mauis dolphin. Recent studies show the total abundance at about
7,400 animals. This is estimated to be 27 percent of its size since 1970, before the
expansion of commercial gill-net fishing. Today Hectors dolphin is listed as Endangered
and Mauis dolphin is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.

Threats
Due to the coastal habitat of the Hectors dolphin, the species is vulnerable to a large
number of different threats, such as chemical pollution, vessel traffic and habitat

Panda of the Dolphin World

modification. Also because it exists in several discrete populations, the risk of local
extinction from by catch or a single pollution or disease episode is extremely high.
Coastal gill-nets

Considered one of the greatest threats

to the survival of marine mammals. Gillnets
are large, rectangular mesh nets that
positioned either on the sea floor or floats
within the water column, depending on the
target species. Dolphins seem to be unable to
detect fine nylon nets with echolocation .The Hectors dolphin also cannot swim
backwards. They easily become entangled in the gear, and because they are voluntary airbreathers and are unable to come to the surface to breath they will eventually die. This is
especially so, since the Hectors dolphin can only hold its breath for two minutes. The
problem is exacerbated by the length of time nets are left to soak, reducing the potential for
survival.
Boat Traffic

The Hectors dolphin occur close

inshore, often-in bays and harbors. It is in
these bays and harbors that the dolphins
are at high risk of being injured by boats.
This is especially true for newborns as

Panda of the Dolphin World

they swim relatively slow and close to the surface. The dolphin can suffer surface cuts to
severe injuries from propellers. For example, a Hectors dolphin calf died due to the direct
impact of a boat strike in Akaroa Harbor, South Island.
Pollution

Although not seen as a direct threat to the Hectors dolphin, some scientists
speculate that man-made chemicals such as PCBs, DDTs and dioxins could be bioaccumulating in the Hectors dolphin and could potentially be affecting reproductive rates.
these pollutants can also be passed on to young dolphins through their mothers milk.,
which could compromise their immune systems. Since they have a slow breeding pattern
by nature, this could eventually be desaturous to the long-term survival of the species.

Conservation
The Hectors dolphins plight wasnt discovered until 1986, when two Auckland
University graduates, Stephen Dawson and Elisabeth Slooten decided to make the animal
the subject of their doctoral theses. Before this little to no information was avaiable on the
distribution or the biology of the dolphin. Nobody suspected that a significant proportion
of the small population was being caught and killed each year in fishing nets.
Dawson and Slooten

The two students carried out a 4,000 miles survey of the Hectors dolphins known
habitat, covering most of New Zealands South Island and the lower half of the west coast of
the North Island. They discovered that nylon monofilament gill-nets, up to 9750 feet in
length, were responsible for the deaths of far more dolphins than had ever been officially
reported, and that the Hectors dolphins population was rapidly declining.

Panda of the Dolphin World

Based on the data provided by Dawson and Slooten, the New Zealand Governments
Department of Conservation proposed the restrictions on the use of set-nets around Banks
Peninsula, an area that had a high number of Hectors dolphin by catch. In 1978, the Marine
Mammals Protection Act was passed in New Zealand that reflected a growing public
awareness of the need to provide for the conservation of the countrys marine mammal.
The Act allowed a marine sanctuary to be set up along the coast. The proposed sanctuary
area extended 4 miles offshore, and covered an area of 500 square miles.
Issues

Since the Marine Mammals Protection Act was passed several more laws have been
introduced such as the banning gill-net fishing in certain areas, but this isnt enough. The
Hectors Dolphin range extends much further south than the set net ban. The ban also does
not include harbors, despite sightings in several harbor locations. Even the Marine Mammal
Sanctuary does not
exceed far enough to
include their entire
range. There is also
almost no protection
between the North Island and the South Island. If this area were to be protected it could
help expand the dolphins range and encourage the expansion of their genetic pool.

Mauis Dolphin
Until 2002, Mauis dolphin was considered a variant of the Hectors dolphins. The
discovery that they had a genetic and skeletal difference created the subspecies. It got its
Panda of the Dolphin World

name from the Maori god Maui who legend has it fished up the north island from the sea.
As mentioned earlier in the paper, there are only 55 Mauis dolphins left. It is in serious
danger of becoming extinct. Just more than one human-induced death every seven years
threatens the entire species from recovery. Since March of 2001, seven dead Mauis
dolphins have been found, five of them were due to fishing, one was impossible to
determine and one was from natural causes. Time is running out, if we dont change the
way things are, Mauis dolphin will instinct in the next 20 years. It may even be too late, but
man must face the consequences of its actions.

Panda of the Dolphin World

Bibliography
Dudzinski, Kathleen, and Toni Frohoff. Dolphin Mysteries: Unlocking the Secrets of
Communication. New Haven: Yale UP, 2008. Print.
Donoghue, Michael, and Annie Wheeler. Save the Dolphins. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Sheridan
House, 1990. Print.
Dawson, Stephen, and Elisabeth Slooten. Down-under Dolphins: The Story of Hector's
Dolphin. Christchurch, N.Z.: Canterbury UP, 1996. Print.
Rayment, Will. "Hector's Dolphin (C. Hectori)." Society for Marine Mammalogy. Society for
Marine Mammalogy, n.d. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Fuatari, Tueila. "The New Zealand Herald." The New Zealand Herald. The New Zealand
Herald, 5 July 2013. Web. 03 Dec. 2013.
Travis, Georgia-Rose. Boat Preference and Stress Behaviour of Hector's Dolphin in Response
to Tour Boat Interactions, Lincoln University. N.p.: n.p., 2008. Print.
Webster, Trudi. "Hector's Dolphin (Cephalorhynchus Hectori)." ARKive. Wildscreen, n.d.
Web. 04 Dec. 2013.
Culik, Boris. "CMS: Cephalorhynchus Hectori, Hector's Dolphin." Convention on Migratory
Species. United Nations Environment Progamme, 2010. Web. 04 Dec. 2013.

Panda of the Dolphin World