PHNOM PENH, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Another newborn Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin has been spotted, raising the number of newborn dolphins in Cambodia to three so far this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said in a news release on Saturday.
The calf was sighted on Wednesday afternoon at the Kampi dolphin pool in northeast Kratie province's Chetr Borei district by a research team of the Fisheries Administration and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
"This two-day-old new calf was healthy and seen swimming alongside a pod of five adult dolphins," the news release said. "It is the third baby dolphin born in 2026."
The Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.
It's estimated that currently, there are about 115 Irrawaddy dolphins living along a 120-kilometer main channel of the Mekong River in northeast Kratie and Stung Treng provinces, according to the MAFF. ■