Dr. Barbara Maas
As Head of Endangered Species Conservation, Barbara has been working to save the Maui and Hector's Dolphin from extinction for over ten years. Barbara's Hector's Dolphins website is one of the most comprehensive and she has played a key role in encouraging thousands to sign various petitions and to send letter to the NZ government via social media and group letters and press releases.

“To have just 55 of these wonderful creatures left is beyond even our worst estimates. Their extinction is really imminent now, within a few years. New Zealand is a civilized country, which markets itself as an unspoilt paradise. They must act before it is too late.

We are grateful for the support for this species from across the world. New Zealand has a reputation as a leader in cetacean conservation, biodiversity protection, and sustainability. Now it is time for the government to reaffirm its commitment to its only endemic dolphin or risk its credibility.

NABU International reiterates its call for the protection of Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins against all gillnet and trawl nets in coastal waters up to 100 metres deep. It is the only rational course of action in light of the overwhelming scientific evidence and the exceptional urgency that confronts us here. Unless the government generates this level of commitment, the last few dozen Maui’s dolphins and their South Island cousins are bound to become a further addition to the long list of extinctions New Zealand has witnessed in the past.”

- Dr. Barbara Maas, NABU

About Dr. Barbara Maas

Dr. Barbara Maas has worked in international wildlife conservation for over two decades and on every continent. A lifelong passion for and deep sense of kinship with the natural world has been the guiding principle throughout her life. A zoologist by training, she studied the behavior of bat-eared foxes in the Serengeti for her PhD at the University of Cambridge before taking up a postdoctoral position at Oxford University. Barbara left academia in 1995 to dedicate herself to promoting conservation and animal welfare. Since then she has worked in senior roles for various international organizations. She first became aware of Hector’s and Maui’s dolphins during a marine conservation appointment in the New Zealand’s civil service. Her work has influenced international policy and legislation across a wide range of issue. She contributed to several wildlife programs and is a well published author. Dr. Maas currently works as Head of Endangered Species Conservation for Germany’s oldest and largest conservation organization, NABU International.

CONTACT DR. BARBARA MAAS:
Email: barbara.maas@nabu.de
Phone: +44-(0)7970987742
Web: www.nabu-International.de
Web: www.hectorsdolphins.com

Barbara’s Press Release: http://www.hectorsdolphins.com/news-releases.html

This is Barbara: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C040fmm6jj4&feature=autoplay&list=UULiwho...