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February 10, 2017

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Desperate bid to save stranded dolphin

Source: Xinhua | February 10, 2017, Friday | Print Edition

WILDLIFE experts in south China are trying to rescue an endangered white dolphin that is in worsening health after mistakenly swimming into a freshwater river a week ago.

The Chinese white dolphin, about 30 years old, equivalent to 70 human years, swam into the Baisha River, a tributary of the Pearl River in Jiangmen, Guangdong Province, on February 1.

A rescue team comprising personnel from local nature reserve and fishery authorities has attempted several times to drive the creature back to sea but has had no success.

“As it is too old and has been stranded for many days, the skin of the dolphin is festering and its health is deteriorating ... Its moving area is shrinking,” Feng Kangkang, a worker with Jiangmen Chinese White Dolphin Nature Reserve said yesterday.

Driving it back to sea should cause the animal minimum harm, but it has repeatedly swam back into the river due to weakening bodily functions, Feng said.

The team is watching the dolphin around-the-clock through devices and recording its health, the Guangdong ocean and fishery department said.

White dolphins rely on echolocation to identify navigate, but when they get old or sick they are likely to run aground. Each year, Guangdong reports two to three cases of white dolphins mistakenly entering rivers.

Dubbed the “giant pandas of the sea,” Chinese white dolphins are mainly scattered in a few coastal areas and exist only in small numbers, with about 2,000 detected at the mouth of the Pearl River.

Nation


 

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