May 2012. The preliminary pathology report on the dead Hector's/Maui's dolphin recovered from a Taranaki beach last week has indicated that the animal died of natural causes.
The results of the post-mortem by Massey University have confirmed that the animal was an adult male in poor body condition and it appears that a combination of health problems had likely contributed to its death. Further tests are underway to confirm this.
There were no obvious signs of trauma and nothing to suggest that the dolphin was caught in fishing nets or any other human interaction. DNA samples have been taken to confirm whether the animal was a Hector's or a Maui's dolphin and those results could be at least two weeks away.
In February, the death of a Maui’s dolphin in a fishing net off the Taranaki coast in January was belatedly confirmed by the government. Conservation group Forest & Bird urged the Minister of Primary Industries to use his emergency powers to extend a ban on gill nets – the greatest threat to the dolphins - to include the Taranaki coast.
“This latest death shows the tragic cost of failing to use these emergency powers. But the minister can still act now to prevent any further deaths,” Forest & Bird’s Marine Conservation Advocate Katrina Subedar said.
Last month DOC’s latest population estimate showed there were only around 55 Maui’s dolphins left – excluding calves under a year old. This showed the population had declined drastically since a population estimate in 2004.
WWF-New Zealand is calling on the Department of Conservation to help protect the world’s remaining Maui’s dolphins by extending the boundary of the Marine Mammal Sanctuary further south and suspending all current mining and seismic activity in their habitat.
The Department of Conservation’s call for submissions on its interim proposal to extend the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary close today, 27 April.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!