Pelorus Jack (?-1912?) was a Risso's dolphin famous for following steamers in Cook Strait, New Zealand.

Pelorus Jack was first seen around 1888 when he appeared in front of a schooner Brindle when it approached the French Pass. Jack was pale with a white head and there were no others of his kind anywhere near. He followed ships that travelled outside Admiralty Bay and Pelorus Sound in Cook Strait. Area is dangerous to ships with rocks and strong currents but no shipwrecks happened when Jack was present.

According to contemporary accounts, Pelorus Jack seemed to guide the ships, preferably steamers, through dangerous passages of the French Pass. It might swim alongside a watercraft for twenty minutes at the time. Sometimes if the crew could not see Jack at first, they waited for him to appear.

Thousands of sailors and travellers saw Pelorus Jack and he was mentioned in local newspapers and depicted in postcards. When a drunk shot and wounded him from a passing streamer Penguin in 1904, the passengers almost lynched the man and a law was passed to protect Jack. Jack reappeared couple of weeks later but tales tell he never helped Penguin again and it was reputedly wrecked later.

Jack was last seen in April 1912. There were various rumours connected to his disappearance, including fears that foreign whalers might have harpooned him. However, it is quite possible that he passed away due to old age.

Books

• Ross E Hutchins and Jerome P Connolly - The saga of Pelorus Jack (1971)