Marineland's elderly dolphin Kelly has died after 34 years in the limelight, marking the "end of an era", Napier Mayor Barbara Arnott said on Thursday.
Kelly, 38, had been ill for several days and died on Wednesday night.
Arnott said Marineland did not open for business on Thursday and the council, which owned the park, would hold a special consultation process with the community to decide whether it would continue without its trademark dolphins.
"For Napier and New Zealand it's the end of an era. For Marineland staff they are really grieving for a member of the family who has been there for 34 years."
Marineland nearly closed two years ago after the death of another dolphin, Shona.
"We were originally going to shut it after Shona died, but because Kelly was happy to carry on it remained open," Arnott says.
"(We were) thinking Kelly would be really lonely without Shona but she soldiered on.
"So two 1/2 years after Shona died, Kelly - at the great age of 38 - has succumbed."
Both dolphins had been at Marineland since 1974.
The Marineland website said the normal life expectancy for a common dolphin was 15 to 18 years.
