A newborn dolphin has been spotted at Kampi deep pool in Kampi village, Chetr Borei district, Kratie province, said the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) in a news release.
This is the second dolphin calf recorded in 2023, MAFF underlined, adding that it was found on April 15 swimming along with a group of adult dolphins by a tourist boat driver who then informed concerned officials of the provincial fisheries cantonment and WWF.
The newborn dolphin is estimated to be only 3 days old, according to the research team of Kratie provincial fisheries cantonment and WWF who monitored the dolphin on April 18.
Last year, six dolphin calves have been registered, the same number as in 2021.
The Mekong’s Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List.
On Feb. 27, 2023, Prime Minister Samdech Akka Moha Sena Padei Techo Hun Sen signed a sub-decree to create a dolphin conservation and protection zones stretching for 120 kilometres along the Mekong River in the Stung Treng and Kratie provinces.
Source: Agence Kampuchea Presse