Maui's dolphin

Maui's dolphin or popoto (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) is the world's rarest and smallest known subspecies of dolphin. They are a subspecies of the Hector's dolphin. Maui's dolphins are only found off the west coast of New Zealand's North Island. Hector's and Maui's are New Zealand's only endemic cetaceans. Maui's dolphins are generally found close to shore in groups or pods of several dolphins. They are generally seen in water shallower than 20 m, but may also range further offshore.

The dolphin is threatened by set-netting and trawling. Based on estimates from 2012, in May 2014, the World Wildlife Fund in New Zealand launched "The Last 55" campaign, calling for a full ban over what it believed is their entire range. The International Whaling Commission supports more fishing restrictions, but the New Zealand government has resisted the demands and questioned the reliability of the evidence presented to the IWC that Maui's dolphins inhabit the areas they are said to inhabit. In June 2014, the government decided to open up 3000 km² of the West Coast North Island Marine Mammal Sanctuary - the main habitat of the Maui's dolphin - for oil drilling. This amounts to one-quarter of the total sanctuary area. In May 2015, estimates suggested that the population had declined to 43-47 individuals, of which only 10 were mature females.

Maui

The island of Maui (/ˈmaʊ.iː/; Hawaiian: [ˈmɐwwi]) is the second-largest of the Hawaiian Islands at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km²) and is the 17th largest island in the United States. Maui is part of the State of Hawaii and is the largest of Maui County's four islands, bigger than Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and unpopulated Kahoʻolawe. In 2010, Maui had a population of 144,444, third-highest of the Hawaiian Islands, behind that of Oʻahu and Hawaiʻi Island. Kahului is the largest census-designated place (CDP) on the island with a population of 26,337 as of 2010 and is the commercial and financial hub of the island.Wailuku is the seat of Maui County and is the third-largest CDP as of 2010. Other significant places include Kīhei (including Wailea and Makena in the Kihei Town CDP, which is the second-most-populated CDP in Maui); Lahaina (including Kāʻanapali and Kapalua in the Lahaina Town CDP); Makawao; Pāʻia; Kula; Haʻikū; and Hāna.

Name

Native Hawaiian tradition gives the origin of the island's name in the legend of Hawaiʻiloa, the navigator credited with discovery of the Hawaiian Islands. According to that legend, Hawaiʻiloa named the island of Maui after his son, who in turn was named for the demigod Māui. The earlier name of Maui was ʻIhikapalaumaewa. The Island of Maui is also called the "Valley Isle" for the large isthmus between its northwestern and southeastern volcanoes and the numerous large valleys carved into both mountains.

New Zealand

New Zealand (/njuːˈziːlənd/ new-ZEE-lənd, Māori: Aotearoa [aɔˈtɛaɾɔa]) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The country geographically comprises two main landmasses – that of the North Island, or Te Ika-a-Māui, and the South Island, or Te Waipounamu – and numerous smaller islands. New Zealand is situated some 1,500 kilometres (900 mi) east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and roughly 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) south of the Pacific island areas of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. Because of its remoteness, it was one of the last lands to be settled by humans. During its long isolation, New Zealand developed a distinctive biodiversity of animal, fungal and plant life. The country's varied topography and its sharp mountain peaks, such as the Southern Alps, owe much to the tectonic uplift of land and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, while its most populous city is Auckland.

Somewhere between 1250 and 1300 CE, Polynesians settled in the islands that were to become New Zealand, and developed a distinctive Māori culture. In 1642, Abel Tasman, a Dutch explorer, became the first European to sight New Zealand. In 1840, representatives of the British Crown and Māori Chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi, making New Zealand a British colony. Today, the majority of New Zealand's population of 4.5 million is of European descent; the indigenous Māori are the largest minority, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders. Reflecting this, New Zealand's culture is mainly derived from Māori and early British settlers, with recent broadening arising from increased immigration. The official languages are English, Māori and New Zealand Sign Language, with English predominant.