KRATIE: A boat driver from the Anlong Kampi dolphin conservation area spotted a newborn dolphin calf swimming in a pod of other adult dolphins in Anlong Kampi, Kratie province on Saturday, 15 April 2023 — the second day of the Khmer New Year.

Researchers from the Kratie Fisheries Department and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) announced they were monitoring the newborn dolphin on Tuesday, 18 April, saying they estimate the calf to be just three days old. This marks the second dolphin calf sighting in 2023.

In both 2022 and 2021, the research team recorded six dolphin calf sightings each year.

The Fisheries Administration of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, in collaboration with WWF, conducted a census of Mekong River dolphins on 1 March 2023, uncovering that the population of newborn dolphins at the Anlong Kampi conservation site was at a high point. This increase in the dolphin calf population was recorded after a sub-decree on the establishment of the Mekong River Dolphin Management Area was passed on 27 February 2023.