Kratie: Another dolphin calf has been spotted at Kampi Pool in the Mekong River in Kratie. The calf is estimated to be less than a week old and was spotted in a pod of at least nine other of the critically-endangered Irrawaddy dolphins. The Worldwide Fund for Nature is encouraging the public to be more active in protecting this most precious of species.

WWF Cambodia’s Dolphin Research Team captured these images of the dolphin calf this week. It estimated that the pod was ten-strong. The director of Cambodia’s Department of Fisheries Conservation, Mr. Ouk Vibol, says this is the fifth dolphin calf spotted in this particular area of Kratie this year. He says that a total of nine dolphin calves were spotted in 2020, with a further 13 seen the year before.

The Mekong’s Irrawaddy dolphin is listed as critically-endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List. A 2020 census showed only 89 dolphins present in the Mekong River. WWF Cambodia is urging local residents to be more responsible in helping to prevent the dolphins from going extinct.