Rarangi woman discovered dead Hector's dolphin on the beach

Rarangi woman Trudie Lasham said the dolphin was found yesterday and the find reported to the Department of Conservation.

DOC ranger Mike Morrissey said that it was not clear what killed the young male dolphin.
It did not have any obvious marks on it.

The dolphin will be sent to Massey University to determine the cause of death.
"It's good that someone reported it straight away."

He said because of the pressures on Hector's dolphins through set nets, each one that died an accidental death was sent off for an autopsy.

Hector's dolphins were not common around Marlborough but were more plentiful in Kaikoura and the loss of every dolphin was considered critical because of the low population numbers, he said.
Mr Morrissey said DOC would probably know the autopsy results within a few days.

"The people of Rarangi have a real interest in the beach and foreshore area and report things like this straight away. It's great."

Mrs Lasham said it was the first dolphin she had seen on the beach since moving there in 1991, but since November, she had found four dead little blue penguins washed up and had alerted DOC.