2,381 endangered dolphins live in south China river estuary

A total of 2,381 Chinese white dolphins, an endangered species, have been identified as living in the Pearl River Estuary, local authorities said Thursday.

As of 2011, the administration of the Pearl River Estuary Chinese White Dolphin Reserve, has continued to monitor the dolphin and found that the number of the dolphin in the Pearl River Estuary accounted for a half of the total population of the species in China, said sources with the administration.

The current Chinese White Dolphin population in the Pearl River consists of six generations of the dolphin, including the early infancy and infancy stage, juvenile stage, adolescence stage, mature stage and senility stage, the sources said.

The dolphin, which is under first class state protection, can be found in just a handful of coastal areas, with the Pearl River Estuary a major habitat in China.

There are about 6,000 such dolphin living in the world, mainly along the coast of the western Pacific, about 4,000 to 5,000 in China.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)