Bangladesh dolphin discovery

Good news from Bangladesh where conservationists say they’ve found a large population of endangered Irrawaddy dolphins.

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) say they have counted nearly 6,000 dolphins in the freshwaters around the Sundarbans mangrove forest and in the Bay of Bengal.

Previous estimates put dolphin numbers in the region at around the 450 mark.

There are other Irrawaddy populations in the Mekong River in Cambodia, in the Malampaya Sound in the Philippines and in the Mahakam River in Indonesia. However there are thought to be only around 100 dolphins in each of these regions. Irrawaddy dolphins are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of endangered species.

Howard Rosenbaum, director of WCS's ocean giants cetacean programme, told The Guardian: “Our best estimate given the science is that there are 6,000. It sounds a lot but the Sundarbans cover a huge area.

“When you look at the areas that have been surveyed before the populations are low as they are in areas impacted by human development. But this area had never before been surveyed. We're really excited and this finding gives us great hope but this species is still very vulnerable.”

Net fishing and dam building are two major threats to the population in the Sundarbans region.

Scientists say rising sea levels caused by climate change could also threaten the freshwater dolphins.

The WCS has called for a sanctuary to be created to protect the Bangladeshi dolphins.