Hawkes Bay Today
  • Hawke's Bay Today home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Havelock North
  • Central Hawke's Bay
  • Tararua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Gisborne

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Hawkes Bay Today

Napier's last dolphin dies

Hawkes Bay Today
11 Sep, 2008 01:54 AM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

STAFF REPORTERS
New Zealand's last surviving captive dolphin, Kelly, died last night at Marineland at the age of 38 after a short illness.
Marineland manager Gary McDonald said staff were upset but glad Kelly passed away peacefully and quickly.
The remaining animals at Marineland will continue to be looked after by staff.
Kelly was
the last of four dolphins at the Napier tourist attraction after Cassana died in 1998, Selina in 1999 and Shona in 2006.
The closure of Marineland, the first port of call for hundreds of thousands of tourists who come to Napier each year, now seems imminent.
Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott recommended in July that her council confirm a strategy to close Marineland when Kelly died. The motion was passed 10-2 with councillors Maxine Boag and Harry Lawson opposing.
The council had allowed Marineland to remain open after Shona's death in April 2006, despite the 2001 strategy saying that when one of the two dolphins died, it would be closed.
Mrs Arnott said the death of Kelly was the end of an era.
"For Gary and the team at Marineland it is a grief within their Marineland family and I know that everyone will be feeling for them," she said.
A Clive woman whose husband was once the manager of Marineland said she was saddened to hear Kelly the dolphin had died but indicated it was time the Napier tourist attraction "moved on".
Ada McIlroy, 70, said her late husband Pat, a manager at Marineland from 1972 to 1977, had caught Kelly and another dolphin, Shona, for the park during the 1970s.
"I am sad but she was a good age. They can't live forever and she lived past her age. These things happen, it's like losing a family pet," Mrs McIlroy said.
She said Kelly was well known around the country and people came to Marineland especially to see the dolphins.
"It's not going to be the same there (at Marineland) now, it makes you wonder what's going to happen," Mrs McIlroy said.
"I think it's time Marineland moved on, we don't need animals kept in captivity anymore, that's my opinion," she said.
Pat McIlroy died 24 years ago. He was involved with catching dolphins in Hawke Bay because there was no law against it then.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer

Hawkes Bay Today

Heavy rain watch north of Napier, potential to be upgraded to warning

Hawkes Bay Today

Four crashes in Hawke’s Bay send four to hospital


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer
Hawkes Bay Today

How new speed limits are making Hastings schools safer

The changes are part of Hastings' early rollout of lower speed limits.

16 Jul 03:49 AM
Heavy rain watch north of Napier, potential to be upgraded to warning
Hawkes Bay Today

Heavy rain watch north of Napier, potential to be upgraded to warning

16 Jul 01:20 AM
Four crashes in Hawke’s Bay send four to hospital
Hawkes Bay Today

Four crashes in Hawke’s Bay send four to hospital

15 Jul 11:58 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Hawke's Bay Today e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Hawke's Bay Today
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP