The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

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 / The Country

Tokerau Beach incident shows dark side of dolphins

Northland Age
10 Dec, 2018 07:36 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

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

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
DoC ranger Shayne Storey telling volunteers what to do if the dolphins returned to the beach on Friday.

DoC ranger Shayne Storey telling volunteers what to do if the dolphins returned to the beach on Friday.

DoC ranger Shayne Storey telling volunteers what to do if the dolphins returned to the beach on Friday.

It wasn't orca, as initially reported, that chased a large pod of common dolphins into the shallows at the northern end of Tokerau Beach on Friday morning. It was bottlenose dolphins, a larger species that is known to prey on its smaller cousins.

Local man Eddie Bellas was first to respond to the potential stranding at about 6am, and was soon joined by others.

Thomson Lawrence calculated the pod at 23, although some reports referred to as many as 40.

"It wasn't easy to count them," Mr Lawrence said.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Some of the smaller ones were wounded, and four actually stranded, but all subsequently returned to open water.

Kaitaia DoC ranger Shayne Storey said there was nothing unusual about bottlenose dolphins hunting the common variety, and that the animals should not be forced back out from the beach until the predatory bottlenose pod had departed.

The bottlenose dolphins did finally leave, and later in the day were seen in Mangonui Harbour.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Project Jonah said in a statement that the common dolphins were joined by up to 30 more when they were about 20 metres off the beach.

Those who responded included DoC rangers, Fire and Emergency, a Far North Surf Rescue crew from Ahipara and volunteers from the local area and further afield.

Discover more

Whale strandings in Kaitaia stretch DoC staff limits

26 Nov 08:40 PM

Volunteers rally to rescue stranded whales

28 Nov 08:58 PM

Residents celebrate another anniversary at Walls Bay

10 Dec 08:30 PM
Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

Europe's Dawn Meats may pay $250m for 65% stake in Alliance Group

The Country

Should we start growing rice in NZ?

The Country
|Updated

Rural rebound: Farm profitability boosts PGG Wrightson's earnings


Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

Europe's Dawn Meats may pay $250m for 65% stake in Alliance Group
The Country

Europe's Dawn Meats may pay $250m for 65% stake in Alliance Group

The deal requires 75% shareholder acceptance at a mid-October meeting.

11 Aug 10:51 PM
Should we start growing rice in NZ?
The Country

Should we start growing rice in NZ?

11 Aug 10:30 PM
Rural rebound: Farm profitability boosts PGG Wrightson's earnings
The Country
|Updated

Rural rebound: Farm profitability boosts PGG Wrightson's earnings

11 Aug 10:14 PM


Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet
Sponsored

Farm plastic recycling: Getting it right saves cows, cash, and the planet

10 Aug 09:12 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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP