Dolphin guided ships through the New Zealand Strait for 24 years

New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant legal protection to a sea creature and the dolphin Pelorus Jack, who guided ships through the New Zealand Strait for 24 years, is the first marine creature. protected and honored by law.

In 1642, navigator Abel Tasman became the first European to discover a group of islands in the South Pacific that later became known as New Zealand. In 1840, the British joined the conquest, officially annexing the islands when establishing a permanent European settlement at Wellington.

Since then, numerous trade routes have been formed to transport minerals and gems mined on these islands. The only problem is that the narrow straits connecting the islands make it very difficult for ships to pass through. The strong current pushed the ship against the rocks and caused damage, as the sailors could not know the location of the whirlpool.

 The image of the dolphin Pelorus Jack.

The Savior Appears

The ships of the 19th century were sturdy but still could not match 'mother nature'. Dolphins are often encountered in the North of New Zealand, but there is one dolphin in particular that sailors consider a real savior. Dolphins were first spotted in 1888 when a merchant ship was approaching the French Pass, the notoriously dangerous strait between D'Urville Island and the South Island, on the travel route between Wellington and Nelson.

When members of the crew saw the dolphin bobbing up and down in front of the ship, they wanted to kill it, but the captain's wife prevented it. To their surprise, the dolphin then guided the ship through the narrow canal. The dolphin guided the ship through the swirling waters and safely passed the French Pass.

The sailors nicknamed the dolphin Pelorus Jack in reference to the Marlborough Sounds, where Jack waited to lead the ship. Jack the whale is about 4m long with gray lines or shadows, a round white head. The sex of the dolphin has not been determined, but researchers believe it is male based on the size of the mammal. Over the years that followed, Jack guided almost every ship safely through the French Pass.

Pelorus Jack guided the ships by swimming with the watercraft for about 20 minutes at a time, being present day and night. With rocks and strong currents, the area is dangerous for ships, but no shipwrecks occurred while Jack was present. Pelorus Jack was extremely precise and brave as he parted the waves right in front of the ships and guided them. After a few years, the sailors wouldn't even go through the French Pass, if Jack hadn't come 'lead'.

 French Pass Strait.

Jack became famous around the world after an article published by the Daily Mail in 1906.

'In the last 20 years, no ship has crossed this region without a 'chaperon', at least part of the way, which was a large white fish, called Pelorus Jack.… It was first noticed that it was jumping out of the water from a distance, but was momentarily swimming through the water just ahead of the hull. Sometimes it just jumps out of the water momentarily and swims ahead, then out of sight. But at other times, it stays 10 minutes longer. Jack is said to never approach a sailboat or steamship with a wooden bottom; but no matter the steel-hulled steamship crosses the Sound, day or night, Pelorus Jack is always there to help,' the Daily Mail article wrote.

Famous writers like Mark Twain and Frank Bullen sailed to the French Pass just to see Jack with their own eyes and briefly mention this particular dolphin in their works.

Fame comes with hate

An interesting fact: in 1904, when a passenger on the SS Penguin (one of New Zealand's first steam-powered ships) managed to shoot Pelorus Jack while the dolphin was guiding the ship. The man was arrested on the ship but when he got to the mainland he was released because at the time there was no law against people shooting dolphins.

Despite the danger, Pelorus Jack continued to help the ships, but the next time the SS Penguin passed through the French Pass, Jack was nowhere to be seen. That's because the dolphin knows and sees this particular ship as a threat.

Pelorus Jack never 'guided the way for the SS Penguin again and the ship hit a rock and sank off the South Wellington Coast not long after. It is believed that a ship abandoned by a dolphin will eventually crash. More than 75 passengers on board died and this was certainly something that could have been avoided if Jack had led the way.

 The statue honors the dolphin Pelorus Jack.

On September 26, 1904, authorities signed a Prohibition on Harming Risso Dolphins in and around New Zealand. The order was issued after the incident aboard the SS Penguin and made New Zealand the first country in the world to grant legal protection to a single marine creature and Jack the first marine creature to be protected. protection law. In the New Zealand Archives, there is a clip of Pelorus Jack guiding a ship. Many people don't really believe the story of Jack, thinking that this is just a legend made up by sailors, but the clip is the only detailed information about the existence of the famous dolphin.

A mysterious death

In April 1912, Pelarous Jack mysteriously disappeared. The train waited for Jack for many days, but he was nowhere to be found. It's not clear exactly what happened to Jack, but he seems to be dead. At the time, it was thought that Jack crashed into a hull and severed the hull. This is entirely possible because he is always right next to the hull when guiding them.

Some other theories suggest that he was shot by someone out of hatred. Others say that around that time many Norwegian fishermen came to New Zealand and started catching all that they saw moving, so Jack may have been caught by the fisherman. Another theory could simply be that Jack died of natural causes. Risso dolphins typically live 20-40 years, and Jack spent 24 years of his life (1888-1912) guiding ships through the French Pass.

Jack has certainly had a huge impact on the lives of so many people. The legend of Pelorus Jack continues to make its mark in today's world. Since 1989, the Pelorus Jack has been used as the emblem for the Interislander, an inter-island service ferry that travels from Wellington to Picton via Cook Strait. A chocolate shop is also named after him. In 2016, a life-size bronze sculpture was placed at Collinet Point, overlooking the French Pass, in Jack's honor.