Saturday, June 16, 2007

130 kilos Irrawady dolphin found dead

Saturday, June 16, 2007
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

The Koh Santepheap newspaper reported that a female Irrawady dolphin weighing about 130 kilos was found dead floating on the Mekong River on 14 June. The body of the dolphin was found stuck near Moan Heur Village, Han Chey commune, Kompong Siem district, Kompong Cham province. An official of the Kompong Cham fisheries department handed over the body of the dolphin to the Prek Kam dolphin curator in Kratie province. A sample of the dolphin meat was sent over to Australia to find the cause of death, and the skeleton is preserved in Kratrie province for exposition. A female Irrawady dolphin can become pregnant once every 1 to 2-year, and a female dolphin carries only one calf. Right after birth, the dolphin mother would push her calf close to shore for a 10-minute sunbathing, before pushing it back to the river. Currently, there are about 200 Irrawady dolphins living in the Prek Kam area in Kratie province.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Again one big loss. The Ministry of Agriculture with International Organization have worked hard and have been very devoted to save this endangered Species. Hope this lost is the last one and that these beautiful Fifh-treasures will reproduce more in a clean social and eco-system system.