The research team of the Fisheries Administration and WWF has found a new-born dolphin calf swimming together with a group of eight adult dolphins in Koh Phdao water deep pool in Sambo district of Kratie province.
The new calf was spotted on Mar. 6 during the population survey of Irrawaddy dolphins in the Mekong river in 2022, according to the Department of Fisheries Conservation of the Fisheries Administration.
This is the first dolphin calf recorded during the first three months in 2022, the source underlined.
The Fisheries Administration took the opportunity to call on local fishermen to protect this dolphin calf and immediately stop illegal fishing practices, especially gill net and electro fishing, so as to ensure that this animal survives to adulthood.
Six dolphin calves were recorded in 2021.
Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is classified as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, as well as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Irrawaddy dolphins are commonly found in two sections of Cambodia’s Mekong River: one is the River span between Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, and the other one at Anlong Chheuteal which is the border between Cambodia’s Stung Treng and the Champasak province of Laos.
Despite efforts made to save it, the sole dolphin inhabiting in Anlong Chheuteal section has died last month, while the Cambodia’s Mekong River between Kratie and Stung Treng is home to only 89 Irrawaddy dolphins.
Source: Agency Kampuchea Press