Massey University wildlife scientists have ruled out entanglement or disease as the cause of death of a baby Hector's dolphin which washed up at Purakaunui inlet late last year.
The cause of death was possibly separation from its mother, a necropsy report from the university's wildlife centre says.
"There were no signs consistent with disease and no indications of entanglement or any other form of human interaction."
Department of Conservation biodiversity assets programme manager David Agnew said Hector's dolphins, which were found only in New Zealand waters, were rare, numbering fewer than 8000.
It was excellent that members of the public contacted Doc when they saw the dolphin as it gave Doc and scientists a chance to learn from it, he said.
"We're very interested if any animal washes up on the beach like this."
There were set-net bans along the Otago coast to protect the dolphins so it was important anglers familiarised themselves with the regulations before they went fishing, Mr Agnew said.
