Bottlenose dolphinHe terehu

Bottlenose dolphin
Tursiops truncatus

Bottlenose dolphin skull. Te Papa (MM002986)

Opo the dolphin

In 1955, a female bottlenose made Opononi Beach in Hokianga her summer home. ‘Opo’ frolicked with locals and juggled balls on her ihu. She quickly became a national celebrity, attracting thousands of visitors.

adults and children in the sea playing with a dolphin in the foreground

Opo the dolphin, Opononi, 1956, by Eric Lee-Johnson. Purchased 1997 with New Zealand Lottery Grants Board funds. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 Te Papa (F.005006/02)

Range of bottlenose dolphin

Map of the world showing with a blue wave through part of the oceans

Range of bottlenose dolphin, in blue. Illustration by Te Papa

Hector’s (and Māui) dolphins

The world’s tiniest marine dolphin lives here in Aotearoa NZ.

Reassembling bones: How to build a Hector’s dolphin

Navigating brittle bones and teeth the size of rice, Thomas Schultz, Collection Manager Science, reflects on putting a Hector’s dolphin back together for an exhibition that would tour North America for ten years.

Whales and Dolphins of Aotearoa New Zealand

For centuries whales and dolphins have captured our imaginations. We have revered and mythologised them, hunted them to the brink of extinction and passionately protected them. But how much do we really know?