Moko did not die by live stranding. Moko knew how to handle shallow water and the beach he ended up on is not the typical kind of beach for a live stranding. It is too steep with rough surf. Live strandings happen at very very slowly sloping beaches such as Mahia or Golden Bay. If Moko knew how to navigate Mahia he certainly would not have got stuck at Matakana.

No, he died in water and then sank. His body started to decompose. Dolphins and whales have so much blubber that when decomposition starts their organs cook (like in a crock pot) and gases start to form. The carcass bloats like a balloon and, at a certain point, the body floats and is pushed by the tide up onto the shore.

This is why I was so sure Moko was alive and out at sea … we never found a body. I never considered that he could be on an island; an island with no people. His body could have been on the island for some time before anyone found it.

I understand the reactions of people blaming the city but Moko moved to Tauranga by his own choice … we all knew it was unsafe and he was in danger. We had a report that he was on his way back to Whakatane, then we found out it was rumour and that he wasn’t seen in Thornton at all. The next day he disappeared.

So long my friend. I have enjoyed getting to know you. May your new friends appreciate you as much as the people of Whakatane have.

These pages will stay indefinitely for the people of Tauranga/Mount Manganui. Read them … learn from them … enjoy them. Take good care of our taonga (treasure).

Moko is still in our town and, over the last six weeks, has continued to attract the attention of residents and visitors alike. He is almost becoming “part of the furniture”. I’m so used to looking for his fin when I cross the bridge that, even when I know he is at Otarawairere, I still do it from habit.

I closed MokoInWhakatane mid April due to a controversy over boats.

Now that the location updates have stopped and the water is getting cooler I am much less concerned about Moko’s saftey being affected by differing viewpoints between third parties. Also, it is evident that MokoInWhakatane provided an excellent forum for people to learn about dolphins, comment about Moko and share their experiences. This project started because of my passion about dolphins, the desire to learn about Moko and the wish to share this experience with other people. These goals succeeded far beyond anything that I expected … so much so that I became concerned about Moko or someone being hurt when third parties fell into disagreement.

The converse situation is also damaging. Without the education and discussion opportunites that MokoInWhakatane provided Moko is in danger of being hurt through ignorance. A medium ground must be found. Moko does not need to be mobbed but it is imperative that he is not isolated … such a situation is paramount to solitary confinement for him.

There is currently debate in the veterinary profession about ethics regarding organ transplantation in animals. As humans we can choose to donate our organs for use by another person if we wish. We are able to give informed consent for this to happen. The same surgeries are able to be performed on animals. The difference is that the donor animal is unable to make the choice about the donation … there is no informed consent. Practices that perform kidney transplants on cats, as a rule, insist that the owners adopt the donor cat as their own pet to make up for this lack of consent but the controversy remains.

Our situation with Moko is exactly the same. Moko is choosing to interact with us on his terms. Who are we to impose our ethics upon his freewill? He has decided, for the time being to be in Whakatane and it’s people instead of other dolphins. To neglect him of this contact is just as likely to be harmful to him as to mob him. He is a sociable animal and, for better or for worse, he has decided that we are his pod. No lone sociable dolphin has ever returned to their pod as a result of human intervention … they either do or they don’t and restricting human contact has no effect on it … in fact there are recorded incidents suggesting that dolphins have stranded themselves in order to gain human contact upon it being withdrwan.

Moko will do what Moko will do … if we mob him he will stay or he will go though he could be physically hurt. If we neglect him he will stay or he will go though he could be pschologically damaged. If we find the middle ground he will stay or he will go and the chances of harm coming to him are minimised. Note that I have not said that he will ever return to the sea to be with a pod. Moko will do what Moko will do when he decides to do it. The best we can do is learn about him while he is with us and so …

… Welcome back to MokoInWhakatane.

8:30am Moko is at the Heads this morning looking for someone to come and play in the rain.

12:30 pm Moko was seen up near the Wharf.

2:30pm Moko is at Piripai opposite the playground near the mouth of the river

2pm Moko is at Piripai Spit opposite the playground near The Heads at the river mouth.

12 pm Unconfirmed reports that Moko is offshore near the radio mast, off Coastlands out near the airport.

2:30pm Moko has been spotted following a yacht sailing past Coastlands heading towards The Heads.

3pm Moko is at Piripai Spit near the river mouth at The Heads

4:30 pm Moko is playing with kayakers opposite the boat ramp.