Found in the rivers and glide of South and Southeast Asia , the undeniably adorable Irrawaddy dolphin is a unique sight for those golden enough to see it . Its rarity does n’t come from shyness alone , however – old age of human activity have seen the population dwindle , to the point that the species is now classed as endangered . But with a helping hand , can the tide turn for the Irrawaddy dolphin ?
Baby beluga lookalike
With a grey upper side and light bottom , Irrawaddy dolphinsaren’t remarkably colored compared to other dolphin species . However , unlike their bottle - nosed relatives , these dolphins have no trenchant beak and a pronounce rounded brain ; they often get compare to dorsal - break water babybeluga giant .
They ’re also unusual amongst dolphins in the sentience that they have compromising necks , which can sometimes bequeath them with creases – it ’s a piece reminiscent of the curlicue on a sister ’s arm . Whilst on the smaller side in term of length – they ’re about 2.8 meters ( 9 feet ) as adults – they do have a worldwide chonkiness about them . Combine this with their characteristically smiley expression and you get a middling adorable - looking animal .
A day in the life
Irrawaddy dolphins can be find throughout South and Southeast Asia , aboriginal to a whole innkeeper of state let in Cambodia , Bangladesh , and Myanmar . They ’re well - known for living in rivers in these regions – there are distinct river - dwelling subpopulations – but can also be see in shallow coastal areas where there ’s some kind of fresh water input signal , such as river deltas .
They are n’t peculiarly fussy when it comes tofoodeither , have it off to deplete a motley of fish . The dolphins are also quite adaptable in getting their ( metaphoric ) hands on their dinner party ; they ’ve been known to bottom - feed , pussyfoot in stuffy to sportfishing vessels to nab from net income or Pisces befuddle overboard , and even sprinkle water to assay and confuse fish .
Despite their piddle - spitting antics , Irrawaddy dolphins are peradventure the least showy of the dolphins ( we ’re await at you , bottlenoses ) . They rarely turn up and even when they do , they do n’t put much of their eubstance out of the weewee – tourist excursions to see them are very much a “ eye blink and you ’ll leave out it ” affair .
Brought back from the brink
Given that they ’re notoriously hard to espy , it ’s not been easy to come up with an estimation for the total universe of the Irrawaddy dolphinfish across their entire habitat . However , where some river subpopulation exist , the number are concerning enough – in the low X to 100s – that they ’re classed as menace on theIUCN Red List .
One subpopulation has even been list as critically threaten ; on a 118 - air mile stretchability of the Mekong River through northerly Cambodia into Laos , only 92Irrawaddy mahimahi are estimated to remain . Even that ’s an improvement on previous numbers – the species was nearly driven to extinction in the tardy 20thcentury after being hunted for food during wartime .
However , the 21stcentury has seen conservation efforts made to bring the Mekong River population back from the verge . The Kampuchean government has exploit with group such as the World Wildlife Fund on a crusade to bring sentience to the coinage and put law in piazza to prevent man - related threat . The stretch of river where the dolphins live has been made aprotectedzone , there ’s been a crackdown on harmful sportfishing practice , and the appointment of river guards to verify the formula are being kept .
These efforts seem to have ante up off – in 2019 , appraisal get hold of the universe act from 80 up to 92 . Although this is a respectable sign , expert have cautioned that the work is far from over . “ Asthreatsto their natural selection persist , we need to redouble our efforts to protect the dolphins both for their future and that of the river and communities that live alongside it , ” say Teak Seng , director of the WWF in Cambodia , speaking toNational Geographic .
Hope , however , persists in the cheek ofpotential threats . As Seng explained , “ Their recovery is a promising foretoken for the river and the one thousand thousand of people who depend on it . After days of hard workplace , we finally have reason to consider that these iconic dolphins can be protected against extinction . ”
