Irrawaddy dolphin images (Orcaella brevirostris) - stock photos, illustrations & facts showing this endangered oceanic dolphin that inhabits coasts and estuaries
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Artiodactyla > Infraorder: Cetacea > Family: Delphinidae > Genus: Orcaella > Species: O. brevirostris - Binomial name: Orcaella brevirostris
Conservation Status: Endangered Species
The Irrawaddy dolphin,...
more »Irrawaddy dolphin images (Orcaella brevirostris) - stock photos, illustrations & facts showing this endangered oceanic dolphin that inhabits coasts and estuaries
Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Artiodactyla > Infraorder: Cetacea > Family: Delphinidae > Genus: Orcaella > Species: O. brevirostris - Binomial name: Orcaella brevirostris
Conservation Status: Endangered Species
The Irrawaddy dolphin, Orcaella brevirostris, is found in a few locations in South and Southeast Asia, near coasts and estuaries from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea, the Philippines, and northern Australia. Although sometimes called the Irrawaddy river dolphin, it is a true oceanic dolphin, closely related to the orca, that enters rivers including the Ganges, Mekong, and Irrawaddy. The Irrawaddy dolphin has a large melon and a blunt, rounded head with a distinct beak. The dorsal fin is short, blunt and triangular, and the flippers are long and broad. Adults can be 7 feet long, weigh up to 280 pounds, and have a typical lifespan of 30 years. Irrawaddy dolphins spit streams of water from their mouths while spyhopping. Considered sacred in some areas, and endangered in all areas, they are legally protected from hunting. However, entanglements in gillnets and deaths or injury due to explosives used in fishing are common in Vietnam and Thailand. Nets crossing river channels restrict movement and isolate populations, causing them to decline. The population in India's Chilka Lake, which suffers from entanglement in gill nets and drag nets, is believed to be now less than 50. Irrawaddy dolphins are also taken to perform in aquariums, which has a significant local impact. The population of the Irrawaddy Dolphin is decreasing at an alarming speed.
In April 2009, more than 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphin have been discovered in the Sundarban mangrove forests and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh. Conservationists are now working with the Bangladesh government to establish a protected area. This find gives great hope to scientists that the species can be saved. The Yangtze river dolphin is already extinct, and the Ganges river dolphin is critically endangered.
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