Despite efforts made to save it, the Irrawaddy Dolphin inhabiting in Anlong Chheuteal section of the Mekong River between Cambodia’s Stung Treng and the Champasak province of Laos has died.
The update was shared by Mr. Ouk Vibol, Director of Department of Fisheries Conservation of the Fisheries Administration following the death on Feb. 15.
According to Mr. Ouk Vibol, the corpse of the sole dolphin in that section of the Mekong was found at its habitat by a fisherman.
Mr. Srey Sam Vichet, Acting Director of the Stung Treng Fisheries Administration District Office, shared that the passed dolphin weighted 110 kg and was 2.34 metres long.
The Fisheries Administration in cooperation with WWF-Cambodia will erect a dolphin statue at the bank of Mekong River at Anlong Chheuteal to commemorate its existence there.
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.
Cambodia’s Mekong River between Kratie and Stung Treng is home to only 89 Irrawaddy Dolphins, inclusive of the six new-borns and seven recently died due to aging and other factors.
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).

Source: Agency Kampuchea Press