One less dolphin. Only 91 dolphins left.

On 27 June, a dead male dolphin that was trapped by illegal fishing nets was recovered in Kratie by wildlife conservation officers. The dolphin was about 10 to 15 years old, was nearly 100kg and 2 meters long, and was found dead on the Mekong River in front of Anlong Psaot Kampi Resort.
Notice that the dolphin didn't get eaten. I think local people believe that dolphins have souls or contain spirits. The myth of the original Mekong dolphin is that of a young girl who drowned herself in the Mekong with a bucket on her head and she turned into a dolphin. Or it could be due to a recent taboo that's come about because the dolphins are Kratie's main tourist attraction and they provide a living for a lot of people.

Giant dolphin statue that everyone should have.

1 min ago - BREAKING NEWS
Newly-born dolphin calf spotted in Kratie


A newly-born Irrawaddy dolphin calf was found earlier this week by tourist-boat operators in Kampi dolphin pool in Kratie province’s Chetra Borey district.

A WWF-Cambodia statement said that the newly-born calf is the first one recorded this year.

It said on that on January 27, a group of dolphin-watching tourist-boat operators encountered a newly-born Irrawaddy dolphin calf in Kampi dolphin pool located in Sambok commune’s Kampi village and they reported the news to a tourism police officer based at Kampi resort.

A WWF-Cmbodia team in Kratie province went down to the area to look for the calf.

“Luckily, the team got to see the dolphin calf. The team took photos and videos of it swimming with other grown dolphins,” the statement said. “The newly-born dolphin calf was among six matured ones and it is the first calf to be recorded this month.”

WWF-Cambodia said that the new calf sighting shows the success of joint efforts in conserving the Irrawaddy dolphin between WWF-Cambodia and conservation partners such as the Fisheries Administration of the Agriculture Ministry, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of Tourism, fisheries communities, tourism agencies, authorities at provincial, district, and commune level and the private sector.

A previous WWF report said that nine dolphins were born last year.

The report also said that the dolphin population in Kratie and Stung Treng provinces had increased to 92 in 2017, the highest it had been in more than 20 years.
https://www.khmertimeskh.com/573702/new ... in-kratie/

That's good news. Congratulations to the happy parents and good luck for the future, baby dolphin.

A video from WWF-Cambodia Facebook page for the dolphin fans.

Damn.Another baby dolphin found dead up in Stung Treng.

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Mon Apr 01, 2019 5:38 pm Damn.Another baby dolphin found dead up in Stung Treng.

Was it because of the drought?

Stueng Treng, Cambodia News: On March 30, 2019, a baby Irrawaddy dolphin was found dead in Kandal village, Thalap Rivath district, Steung Treng.
Mr. U Sam Oun, a resident of Kieny village in Preah Vat Kluo commune, confirmed that at 6.30am, on March 30, he went to the Mekong River to find the dead dolphin floating, so he called the police to contact the relevant authorities.

Mr. Rethna Roeun, the officer of the WWF organization, said that the death of this baby dolphin was a big loss for a rare species. The body of the dolphin was sent for examination, as this is the second case of this kind in one year. There was a similar case in 2018, where a baby dolphin also died in that stretch of the Mekong, and it is possible that the baby dolphin deaths might be caused by a dry season disease.

The police said the dead dolphin was 11kg and one meter long, and it was too young to able to find food by itself yet.

Cambodia’s endangered river dolphins at highest population in 20 years
Once believed to number in the thousands, the dolphins of the Mekong River were devastated by war, hunting, and indiscriminate net fishing.
By Stefan Lovgren
PUBLISHED April 5, 2019

KAMBOR(sic), CAMBODIAIt’s 5:30 p.m., and several tourist boats linger in the middle of the Mekong River. A blood-orange sun casts a warm glow across the milky brown water, making it the ideal time to photograph the rare Irrawaddy river dolphins that congregate in deep, swirling pools. Not that these dolphins are particularly willing photo subjects, as the tourists on this day are finding out.

While marine dolphins often jump fully out of the water while swimming on a continuous path, the snub-nosed—and indisputably adorable—Irrawaddy dolphins, which grow to be up to eight feet long, will only partially breach the surface before diving back below. They may briefly pop up in one place only to reappear the next time in a random spot a few hundred feet away. The clicking of tourist cameras following each glimpse inevitably comes too late.

It’s an impressive disappearing act. Yet the most remarkable feat these dolphins have pulled off may be that they have not disappeared.

For decades, Cambodia’s Mekong River population of Irawaddy dolphins has verged on extinction. Once believed to have numbered in the thousands, the population began to plummet in the 1970s. During the violent reign of the Khmer Rouge and the years of war that followed, the dolphins were hunted for food. Indiscriminate net fishing, in which the dolphins sometimes end up as bycatch, took a further toll, and by the turn of the millennium, there were maybe fewer than 100 left.

Some conservation measures were finally implemented in the mid-2000s when the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) partnered with the Cambodian government to support law enforcement efforts combating unsustainable fishing practices, which include using poisons and dynamite. Around this time, the Cambodian government also began promoting the dolphins as a flagship species and tourist attraction. Yet it takes time to crack down on illegal activity, and in 2015, a population census showed only 80 individuals remaining.

Then, last year, came some good news. A new survey found 92 dolphins in the Mekong River, the highest number in more than 20 years. Researchers identified nine newborn calves. This year, three more have already been found. Eng Chea San, the director general of the Cambodian Fisheries Administration, says there may be a dozen or more previously unidentified dolphins living in the river.

No one is celebrating just yet, though. The dolphin population remains well below what is considered safe to ensure its future survival. A wide array of threats persists, most notably the planned construction of a new 2,600-megawatt dam in Sambor, Cambodia, which would eat into core dolphin habitat. High mortality among young dolphins also continues to mystify scientists.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/anim ... -20-years/

It is really good good news that juveniles seem to have been surviving in the past 2-3 years. There was a horrible period before that when none were, and with no real understanding why. Numbers caught in gill nets seem to have declined also. Hence the population rise.
Unfortunately it is hard to keep optimistic with all the dams that are planned, not only Sambor.
About five years ago I kayaked Stung Treng to Kratie. Fantastic trip,(3 days, slowly) saw two dolphins closer up to ST than Kratie.
Even more exciting was running out of food - so pushing through the Sambar rapids by the full moon to get to Kratie before the restaurants closed. I am glad i did, one of my all-time Cambodia experiences. Heart in mouth stuff - all senses switched full on.
Do it soon if you have ever thought about it - before the Mekong is finally tamed.