The body of a juvenile dolphin, thought to be a Māui, has been found washed up on an Auckland beach.
The body was at Karioitahi Beach, west of Pukekohe, was reported to the Department of Conservation (DOC) yesterday by a member of the public.
The body was badly decomposed and appears to have been there for some time.
Despite it being unlikely that a necropsy will be able to determine cause of death, the body will be sent to Massey University for examination, DOC Marine Species and Threats Manager Ian Angus said.
"It’s tragic to have another juvenile dolphin die. We are hoping an examination may help us better understand why this has happened,” Mr Angus said.
“If confirmed, it will be the third Māui dolphin death to be reported to DOC this year. The previous two were found to have died from natural causes.”
A pregnant female dolphin was found dead near Te Akau, north of Raglan in October. Tests showed it died from blood poisoning resulting from complications while giving birth.
Another Māui dolphin found dead at Port Waikato, was found to be a victim of shark predation.
With fewer than 100 left, Māui dolphins are critically endangered and are only found on the West Coast of the North Island.
The Department is calling on the public to photograph and report any sightings of a Māui or Hector’s dolphins to the emergency hotline 0800 DOC HOT (0800 362 468).
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