Moko is a bottlenose dolphin that resides on Mahia beach on the East Coast of New Zealand's North Island. She spends her days frolicking with the local residents and tourists and is generally very popular - however what she did on March 12th has made her a hero, both locally and worldwide.

It all began that morning when the Department of Conservation received a call about two pygmy sperm whales that were stranded (stuck) on the beach. The mother and her one-year old calf had inadvertently (by accident) swum onto the beach and were having a hard time getting back to the sea.

The officials worked with them for over an hour but they kept getting disoriented (confused) and re-stranded, especially as they got close to the large sandbar that surrounds the beach. Just as the officials were about to give up, something amazing happened.

Moko showed up and escorted the whales along the beach and out to the sea. Officials who witnessed the whole scene said that up until Moko showed up, the whales had been sitting on the surface of the water looking very distressed and calling out to one another. However, as soon as the dolphin appeared, they submerged into the water and followed her to safety!

While the whales have not been seen again, Moko returned right after to continue playing - What an amazing dolphin.