Woman rescued from playful dolphin

Moko has entertained crowds of visitors in the past. Here she is shown towing Sam Penny of Gisborne. Photo / Alan Gibson

A woman was rescued freezing and exhausted from the sea off Mahia in the northern Hawke's Bay yesterday, worn out by the playful antics of resident dolphin Moko.

The woman, who did not want to be named, went into the water at about 4.30pm.

She was wearing a wetsuit and knew Moko was waiting for company, but did not bargain on the dolphin wanting to play for so long.

She ended up marooned on a buoy while Moko ran rings around her, swimming around and diving alongside her whenever she tried to move.

Bystanders had noticed how long the woman had been at sea when she started screaming for help.

Sunset Point Bar & Bistro manager Juanita Symes said her uncle Ian Blake came back from the beach and raised the alarm.

The pair borrowed a dinghy from a nearby house and headed out to rescue the woman.

"When we got out there she had wrapped herself around the buoy and was absolutely freezing, she was freezing to death," Ms Symes said.

"She was completely exhausted. If we had left her any longer she would have run out of energy."

A local paramedic was waiting on the beach to treat the woman when they returned.

The rescued woman said Moko was very special to the area and she did not want people to get the wrong impression that she was trying to cause her harm.

"I've spent quite a bit of time swimming with Moko and I'm a strong swimmer so I wasn't worried at first," she said.

"We were playing around for a while but then when I wanted to go back in, she just wanted to keep playing.

"I became exhausted and started to panic.

"The reality set in that I was out in the ocean with a wild animal and no people around, so I felt quite vulnerable."

Moko has attracted worldwide attention since she took up residence at Mahia last year, with hundreds of people turning up to swim with her.

But marine welfare organisation Project Jonah said people should take a "hands off" approach and give the three-year-old bottlenose dolphin her space.

"Although Moko is actively seeking human company, she's a wild animal, not a trained performer," said chief executive Kimberly Muncaster.

- NZPA