PHNOM PENH, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) — Another newborn Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin was sighted on Wednesday morning, bringing the number of newborn dolphin calves in Cambodia to two so far this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a news release.
The new calf was spotted at the Kampi dolphin pool in northeast Kratie province’s Chetr Borei district by a team of researchers from the Fisheries Administration and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
“This newborn dolphin was seen swimming alongside a pod of seven other dolphins,” the news release said. “It is the second dolphin calf born in 2024.”
The first calf was discovered on Feb. 11.
The Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.
It is estimated that approximately 90 Irrawaddy dolphins are living along a 180-kilometer main channel of the Mekong River in northeast Stung Treng and Kratie provinces.
