The battle to save Cambodia's river dolphins from extinction

[geovalin]

Bulging grey heads break the turbid waters of the Mekong River in Cambodia as a pod of rare Irrawaddy dolphins surfaces to breathe, drawing excited murmurs from tourists watching from nearby boats.

The thrilling sight may soon be no more than a memory, as numbers of the endangered mammals dwindle despite efforts to preserve them. Cambodia has announced tough new restrictions on fishing in the vast river to try and reduce the number of dolphins killed in nets.

But in a country with limited financial resources, it's a huge challenge to enforce the rules on a river hundreds of metres wide that is dotted with islets and lined with dense undergrowth.

 

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