Efforts by the Cambodian conservation authorities to safeguard the critically endangered Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin appear to be working, with the sixth newborn calf of 2025 spotted last week.
Recognised by the government as a national living treasure, the dolphin population had stabilised to just over 100 in late 2024.
Up until 2022, annual Irrawaddy dolphin deaths outnumbered births, but in 2023, eight dolphins were born and there were five deaths and in 2024, there were nine births and just four deaths.
The new calf, about four days old, was spotted last Friday at the Kampi dolphin pool in Kratie province's Chetr Borei district by a team of researchers from the Fisheries Administration and WWF.
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