Dolphin Numbers Fall, but WWF Still Hopeful

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Khmer Times/Aisha Down

KRATIE (Khmer Times) – Over 400 people joined in WWF’s “Dolphin Day” celebration in Kratie town Tuesday morning, parading in dolphin-emblazoned T-shirts up the riverfront and through the market. Though local enthusiasm is palpable, the bottom line is sobering. The number of endangered Irawaddy dolphins in the Mekong River continues to drop, the WWF announced in a press conference following the celebration. A population that once numbered in the hundreds has now fallen to just 80 adult animals.

Reasons for Hope

Though the dolphin population seems to be declining, both Chhith Sam Ath, country director of WWF, and Ouk Vibol, director of the Fisheries Conservation, emphasize that the outlook for dolphin survival is essentially positive. “The decline is slowing, firstly,” says Mr. Samath. “Around 2002, we had 14 to 15 dolphins dying every year. Now, it’s more like six to seven.”

Some deaths are natural, he explains. “Dolphins die of old age, just as people.”

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