Swimming with Moko

Moko, the dolphin has been separated from his pod for most of his life. He is very social, and has been seen all along the East Cape. (The boys saw him up at Tologa Bay in September). This is him, this past weekend, swimming with some surfers right off Wainui Beach. We watched as he bunted a surf board out of one of the kids' hands, and balanced it on his nose as he swam away. The kid swam after him, and just as he reached out to grab the board, Moko would flick it into the air, catch it again and swim away. He was playing keep away! He is very persistent when he wants to play. Recently, though, there have been some close calls. He has knocked some younger kids off their boards, snatched their boards and left them stranded. And because the surf is pretty strong to swim in, they needed rescue to get back to shore. He has damaged and stolen quite a few boogie boards, surf boards, etc. Anyway, we enjoy watching him from the shore!