Analysis of a tissue sample taken from a Hector’s dolphin spotted off the coast of Thames-Coromandel has aided understanding of the species and confirmed where the animals came from.
In October 2023, Department of Conservation (DoC) staff were alerted to a sighting of an adult female Hector’s dolphin, accompanied by a juvenile, in the Firth of Thames near Te Kouma.
The sighting of the animals off the Coromandel’s west coast was rare and unusual, prompting DoC to urge the public to report their own sightings.
At the time, DoC marine scientists suggested the dolphins could be from the Hector’s population off the east coast of the South Island – a fact now confirmed by tissue sample analysis.
DoC Marine Technical Advisor Kristina Hillock said obtaining a tissue sample from a dolphin required DoC staff aboard a vessel to get close enough to the animal to use a special dart gun. The dart gun secured a small plug of flesh – about the size of a fingernail – which was sent for DNA analysis.