If Sir James Hector was alive today, he will raise a fit when he learns that the dolphin named in his honor is already in the critically endangered list. Sir Hector was the curator of the Colonial Museum in Wellington and was the first person who examined the dolphin. He was also a very influential scientist of his time. 

The Hector's dolphin or Cephalorhynchus hectori is the smallest marine dolphin in the world and is the rarest. It measures an average of 1.3 meters. According to the IUCN, the total population of the dolphins is between 3,000 and 4,000. The number declined from an estimated 26,000 about 35 years ago. However, recent surveys indicate that the total population have reached more than 7,000 individuals.

Hector's dolphins are found exclusively in the waters of New Zealand. The most distinguishing characteristic of the dolphins are the rounded dorsal fins. Other dolphin species have crescent shaped fins which are more pointed. Also, the Hector's dolphins do not have bottle-shaped snout but instead have sloping foreheads that goes down to the tip. 

Common colors of the dolphin is grey with streaks of black particularly on the forehead area. The tip of the beak is black while their throat and chest are white. The belly is also white while the most of the back is is grey. The dolphin weighs about 9 kg upon birth and at adulthood grows to about 40 to 60 kg. The average life of a Hector's dolphin is about 20 years.

Hector's dolphins like most dolphins swim in groups. Hector's dolphins usually swim with 2 to 12 others. Hector's Dolphins are often seen less than 10 km off-shore during the summer and winter. They are friendly creatures, curious, and love to play around, typical dolphin behavior. They are known to swim over people swimming or boating or kayaking.

Getting entangled in gillnets is said to be the primary threat to the lives of Hector's dolphin to date. From 1984 to 1988 alone, it was estimated that around 760 Hector's dolphins died due to drowning after being trapped and entangled in the nets. But after 1988, a marine reserve was created around Banks Peninsula. Gillnets were not allowed within the area.

Aside from being entangled in nets, dolphins are sometimes killed by boat propellers driven by reckless boatmen. Other causes of deaths include eating marine pollutants or garbage. Sometimes they eat plastics which cause dolphins to get sick.

Recent efforts to conserve the species include the tagging and tracking of three Hector's dolphins in 2004. The project was initiated by the New Zealand's Department of Conservation. Also, just this April 2007, the World Wide Fund for Nature began an an online petition asking New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark for emergency measures that will protect Hector's and Maui dolphins.

Maui or Popoto dolphins is a subspecies of Hector's and are found off the northwest coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is estimated that only 110 Maui dolphins are left in the wild which makes them the most endangered subspecies of all marine mammals.