Mekong River dolphins are iconic species of the Greater Mekong region. Today, their populations are at an all time low.
Irrawaddy dolphins
The Mekong dolphin population is estimated at between 78 and 91 individuals inhabiting a 190km stretch of the Mekong River between Cambodia and Laos.
Historically, Mekong dolphins were distributed throughout the lower Mekong from southern Laos through to the Mekong delta in Vietnam, and into many of its tributaries including Cambodia’s Tonle Sap.
Today, it is estimated that 78-91 animals survive in a 190 km stretch of the Mekong River between the Cambodia and Laos.
Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are recognized throughout local folklore and highly regarded by the Khmer and Lao people.
According to Cambodian myth, people believed that the Irrawaddy dolphin is a fair maiden with the body of a fish. As the story goes, a beautiful maiden was forced by her parents to marry a magical python but decided to cast herself into the Mekong River. Her suicide bid failed and she was transformed into a dolphin.
In Cambodia, the Commission for Dolphin Conservation and Ecotourism Development, a government body, and the Cambodian Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project, a joint initiative by the Fisheries Administration, WWF and WCS implements dolphin conservation management strategies.
Today, it is estimated that 78-91 animals survive in a 190 km stretch of the Mekong River between the Cambodia and Laos.
Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphins (Orcaella brevirostris) are recognized throughout local folklore and highly regarded by the Khmer and Lao people.
According to Cambodian myth, people believed that the Irrawaddy dolphin is a fair maiden with the body of a fish. As the story goes, a beautiful maiden was forced by her parents to marry a magical python but decided to cast herself into the Mekong River. Her suicide bid failed and she was transformed into a dolphin.
Major threats
Current major threats identified include:- pollutants from industry and agriculture
- fishing causing both stock depletion and entanglement in fishing gears
- current hydropower developments upstream and in tributaries
- proposed hydropower developments on the mainstream Mekong within core dolphin habitats
- aquatic and riparian ecosystem degradation
- inadequate legislative protection and management and
- the multi-faceted problem of climate change.
Conservation
The Mekong dolphin is fully protected from hunting in Laos and Cambodia.In Cambodia, the Commission for Dolphin Conservation and Ecotourism Development, a government body, and the Cambodian Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project, a joint initiative by the Fisheries Administration, WWF and WCS implements dolphin conservation management strategies.
The critically endangered Mekong River Irrawaddy dolphin.
