PHNOM PENH, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- A newborn Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin was spotted on Monday in Cambodia, increasing the total population of the aquatic mammals to 112, the country's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said in a press release on Tuesday.
The latest newborn dolphin calf, about one day old, was spotted on Monday afternoon at the Kampi dolphin pool in Kratie province's Chetr Borei district by a team of researchers from the Fisheries Administration and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
"This newborn healthy dolphin was seen swimming alongside its mother and a pod of another four adult dolphins," the press release said. "It is the eighth dolphin calf born in 2025."
The MAFF estimated that to date, 112 Irrawaddy dolphins are living along a 120-km main channel of the Mekong River in northeast Kratie and Stung Treng provinces.
According to the press release, the Southeast Asian country recorded for the first time ever zero Mekong dolphin deaths so far this year.
The Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species. ■