How to identify a Maui's dolphin
Maui's dolphins are very easy to identify. Their most distinctive features are their:

• rounded dorsal fin, unlike the sickle-shaped fins of other dolphins
• gently sloping snout unlike the "bottlenose" snout of common dolphins
• size - they are shorter than adult humans - adult Maui's are normally 1.2 - 1.4 metres long and weigh about 50 kg

Look for distinctive black markings:a black face, flippers, dorsal fin and tail and a crescent-shaped black mark that runs between the top of each eye, up over the blowhole.

� Rob Suisted. Nature's pic images

Marine mammals
Dolphins are marine mammals. Like other mammals (including humans), dolphins:

• feed their young with milk using mammary glands
• are born alive rather than developing in an egg
• have warm blood and need to retain heat
• have four limbs (dolphin flippers have developed from limbs).
• are intelligent
• have efficient hearts
• breathe air using lungs

A marine mammal's tail moves up and down rather than side to side like fish tails.

Names
The Maui's dolphin used to be called the North Island Hector's dolphin. In 2002, the subspecies Maui's dolphin was described by Dr Alan Baker based on genetic and skeletal differences. The name of the subspecies is based on the Maori indigenous name for the North Island: Te Ika a Maui

Where do Maui's live?
Maui's dolphins are found in isolated pockets along the North West coast of the North Island, between Dargaville and New Plymouth. They live in small pods of 1 to 5 dolphins within 5 nautical miles of the coast. During summer (October to March) they seem to venture closer to shore and are mostly seenwithin 1 nautical mile of the coast. It is thought that individuals remain within the same 60km stretch of coast all their lives.

What do Maui's eat?
Maui's dolphins spend most of their time making short dives (90 seconds or so) to find fish on the sea floor. They also find fish and squid in mid water and sometimes feed near the surface.

What is echolocation?
Water is better at transmitting sound than light. Dolphins rely much less on their eyes than people and use sound as a means of navigating, finding food and communicating. They make high frequency sonar clicks which bounce off anything in the water. This is known as echolocation. The dolphin interprets the echoes to understand their surroundings and the size and position of objects in the water such as fish, boats and other dolphins. Maui's dolphin clicks can be quite loud - the maximum level recorded being 163 decibels - about as loud as a rock concert. But remember that dolphin sounds are ultrasonic, so in fact, a person would hear nothing. The clicks are very short and are emitted in series that range from a few dozen to several thousand.

Maui's behaviour
Feeding takes up a lot of the Maui's time. They also play, for example with seaweed, chase each other, blow bubbles, fight and jump (although not as frequently as some other dolphin species). You can also see them surfing if you are very lucky. Maui's dolphins do not pair for life but mate frequently.

Baby Maui's

� Steve Dawson

Females usually give birth to a single calf in spring or early summer. Baby dolphins are born with their dorsal fins partly folded over and with fold marks along their bodies. They are very large (50 - 60 cm) in proportion to their mothers (only 1.2-1.4m). Calves live on their mother's milk for up to a year, although they learn to eat fish and squid after about 6 months. Mothers and calves often travel in small nursery groups for protection.

Low birth rate
Like other small dolphins, Maui's dolphins have a low reproductive rate. They breed just fast enough to replace the number of dolphins that die naturally. Females mature sexually at 7-9 years old and give birth about every 2-4 years. One female might have four calves in her 20 year life span.

This slow birth rate means that Maui's dolphins are struggling to recover from human induced deaths. See threats.

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