© World Wildlife Fund
Irrawaddy dolphin.
The Irrawaddy dolphin, considered sacred to many people in Cambodia and Laos, has declined to just 85 individuals in Southeast Asia's
Mekong River, according to a
World Wildlife Fund assessment. Leading researchers now conclude that the population is at high risk of dying out altogether.
"This low number, combined with very low calf survival rates, means that these dolphins are frighteningly close to extinction," WWF spokesperson Caroline Behringer told Discovery News.
Li Lifeng, director of WWF's Freshwater Program, echoed the concern about calves in a press release statement.
He said, "Evidence is strong that very few young animals survive to adulthood, as older dolphins die off and are not replaced."
Li and his colleagues used a technique called
"photographic mark-recapture" to count the dolphins. This involves identifying specific individual dolphins through unique markings on their dorsal fins. The method, adjusted to focus on other unique identifying features, has previously been used to estimate whale, tiger, horse, leopard and other animal populations.
