| Moko is a bottlenose dolphin who has taken up residency in Mahia beach, Hawkes Bay in New Zealand since 2007. Mr. Bill Shortt a local fisherman in Hawkes bay has very kindly offered to contribute to Moko' s page for us. Moko followed Bill home one evening when he was out at sea fishing lobster on his boat. Moko is probably best known for his courageous rescue of an adult pygmy sperm whale and her calf who stranded in Hawkes bay in 2008. After many attempts of rescue workers to save them had failed, Moko showed up to save the day. He coached them back out to sea |
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| Bill Shortt of Hawkes Bay New Zealand |
| Bills story of Moko Moko made what is believed to have been his first appearance on the East coast at Mahia beach on April 9th 2007 at 2pm. I guess I was in the right place at the right time. I am at sea most days when the weather is good running crayfish pots. When putting down a set line for fish I noticed a large swirl close to my boat which gave me some concern as I was in a 12ft aluminium dinghy, when suddenly Moko popped up and began to follow me. He continued to follow me for a further 2 - 3 weeks and became what I suppose you would call friendly. my wife Cath even purchased a ball for Moko as we considered that he may have been a captive dolphin escaped. To our surprise he did play with the ball. I never really told anyome about him until I was talking to Mr. Malcolm Smith a conservation representative who lives locally and took him to see Moko. Not long after that the news of Mokos presence began to spread. |
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| Moko playing with a boogie board in Mahia |
| How Moko got his name Bill explained to me that Moko got his name in quite a casual manner. Moko was named by a local man Joe Hedley over a cup of coffee one afternoon. He made the statement that they had Opi of Opononi(a dolphin that resided for one year in 1955 -1956. who sadly washed up dead on the beach) and now Moko of Mahia. Moko comes from the Maori word Mokotahi meaning one mark or one face. Mokotahi is the large headland that jutts out beyond Mahia which Moko loves to spend time swimming around. And so the beautiful Moko was named! |
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| Mokos Diary May 2009 By Bill Shortt Moko is well known for his amazing rescue of two whales recently but I know him for his cheeky and sometimes boisterous behaviour. Moko just loves to steal boogie boards (as does Dusty) and destroys them to the best of his ability. He has visitors come from all over the globe to see him and he is even had some lovely Irish lassies with him, he always seems to have a grin on his face when those Irish girls come to swim with him! Mokos most recent claim to fame was the catching of an extremely large snapper fish, so large that the lady who received it on the beach from him had terrible trouble trying to carry it to her truck. This story was covered by the Media! Ok on a more personal note, Fishing when Moko is around is not easy, believe me. Last Monday I was enjoying some very good fishing when guess who turned up - MOKO! He actually brought my sinker up from the bottom and handed it to me. I tried dropping it on the opposite side along with the line, but yes you guessed it, It was not long before the nylon started to run off the reel as Moko wrapped it around the Anchor, with the hooks now embedded in the rope it was time to call it a day and pull it up and so I did and gave him an irish blessing and buggered off!! Iam fortunate to live by the sea and I get to see Moko antics most days. He is very clever and even smarter than most humans, Who I feel would have trouble keeping up with him! |
| All photos are courtesy of Bill Shortt and Ms. Lydia Uddstrom we thank them both kindly for adding such an interesting Diary of Moko to our website! |
| Moko intereacting with Mahia Fire chief John Smith and his wife Leigh |
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| Bill & Moko |
| DECEMBER 2009 UPDATE The well known biolgist Dr. Ingrid Visser paid a visit to research Moko during the month of July 2009. Dr. Visser is known for her work with Orca' s around New Zealands coastline and with thanks to Bill she has given permission for us to place her images of Moko and her work on Moko' s page. Shortly after the release of this article Moko disappeared from Mahia & was spotted 80km North. He has since made Gisborne his home |