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WWF says new births bring hope for rare dolphin's population in Cambodia

Xinhua, December 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

The sighting of 10 new Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin calves this year in the Cambodian stretch of Mekong River has brought hope for the race against the extinction of this species, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said in a statement seen on Wednesday.

Dolphin habitats are in a 180-km-protected area along the Mekong River in eastern Cambodia's Kratie and Stung Treng provinces.

"Ten new Mekong dolphin calves have been sighted in 2016, 7 calves in Kratie province and 3 calves in Stung Treng province," the statement said.

"The births of these new calves are a great encouragement and reward of the efforts of WWF-Cambodia and Fisheries Administration in law enforcement and protection of the species," it said.

The statement added that the annual mortality in the Mekong dolphin population in 2016 has decreased by 30 percent compared to 2015 and by 68 percent compared to 2006 when WWF started to monitor the Mekong dolphin population.

Six dolphins were seen dead in the Mekong River in 2016, including the tragic death of a calf which drowned after being entangled in a gill net.

WWF said that the dolphin population is currently stabilizing; however, the species still face major threats, including hydropower dam construction and rampant illegal and destructive fishing practices such as gill nets, poisoning, electroshock and explosive fishing devices.

According to the statement, WWF believed that currently, no more than 80 Irrawaddy dolphins survive in the Mekong River in the Cambodian section.

The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins have been listed as critically endangered on the World Conservation Union Red List of Threatened Species since 2004. Endit