The Department of Conservation (DoC) is concerned for the health of Moko the dolphin after the discovery that eight of the mammal's teeth are missing.
Moko has been living in waters around Whakatane since moving on from Gisborne in January.
The playful bottlenose dolphin has taken to grabbing hold of anchor chains of boats moored at the Whakatane River and dragging the boats back and forth.
A spokesperson for DoC, James Holborow, says staff checked the dolphin over recently and discovered that four teeth on either side are missing. They suspect his latest play is the cause.
Mr Holborow says staff want to check if the dolphin had any teeth missing while it was in Gisborne between October last year and early January.
One of Moko's favourite games while in Gisborne was to grab marker buoys and drag them about.
Mr Holborow says staff are concerned for the Moko's health and would appreciate hearing from anyone who may have photographs of its mouth while the dolphin was in Gisborne.
