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Hectors Dolphin The New Zealand dolphin is on of the smallest cetaceans, only growing up to 1.5m long. Males are smaller than females, males 1.2m - 1.4m, females 1.4m - 1.5m, and at birth anything above 60cm.
They have a colour pattern of grey, black and white. They stay in groups of about two to eight in the coastal New Zealand waters. They surface frequently to breathe, and you may spot their rounded dorsal fin, but they are quite hard to see as they are small, and have a low profile.
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They inhabit muddy river mouths and shallow bays, often swimming between rocks. They don't go any further than 5 miles from land.
Hector dolphins eat fish and squid. Unfortuanatly, they are sometimes accidentally trapped in trawls and gill nets. Some parts of their habitat have been protected, but more areas must have a ban for the dolphins to survive.
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