Helping Hector’s – Another Way!

Aescleah Hawkins on board a Black Cat Cruises vessel

Christchurch’s Paul Bingham has done more than put his own walking shoes behind the upcoming “Hector’s Dolphins Walk,” organised by conservation-minded Christchurch student Aescleah Hawkins. He’s found a way to make it easy for others passionate about their local endangered species to make a difference as well – with or without walking.

Bingham, who is the Managing Director of Black Cat Cruises, has established an on-line auction where locals and tourists alike can bid on activities throughout the South Island – with proceeds benefitting this special cause.

“We got involved to draw attention to just how rare Hector’s dolphins now are. Black Cat only exists because of our partnership with the dolphins and the unique marine environment that we operate in. We give people the opportunity to experience Hector’s dolphins, and we are committed to protecting the dolphins.  When the opportunity came up to take part in Aescleah’s walk for Hector’s, we got right behind it, as part of our ongoing support for the conservation of this endangered and treasured species.” he says.

On March 4-6, Bingham will join Hawkins and 10 others on the three-day, 42-kilometre awareness raising mission, taking them from Lyttelton to Akaroa. They aim to raise $36,000 to benefit WWF’s Stop the Extinction campaign and spread the message of the urgent need to protect Hector’s dolphins. The walkers are being guided by Tuatara Tours.

Aescleah Hawkins commented: “We are walking to Akaroa because that’s one of the places where Hector’s dolphins live. I hope that we can raise people’s awareness that the dolphins are now endangered, and we need to save them. Hector’s dolphins are just amazing, wonderful animals and we can’t let them go extinct.  I want to see change come about, from our walk.”

Hector’s dolphins lives only in New Zealand’s coastal waters and numbers are estimated at 7000 which makes them one of the rarest marine dolphins in the world and ranked as ‘endangered’ on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) 1 Red List of Threatened Species.

WWF New Zealand is the local office of the WWF International Network, the world’s largest and most experienced independent conservation organisation.

WWF fully supports Aescleah to take action to save the threatened Hector’s dolphin. And so can you. To make a donation to Aescleah’s Walk for Hector’s, or to find out more, go to: givealittle.co.nz