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pink dolphins in danger says conservation group
pink dolphins in danger
Wildlife conservationists are sounding the alarm after a troubling report was released in Hong Kong announcing that the region’s famous white dolphins, also known as Chinese pink dolphins for their beautiful coloration, have had their numbers cut in half over the past several years and are in danger of extinction.
Although more than 150 pink dolphins were counted in 2003, as few as 78 actually survive today. The Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society expects to release new numbers for 2012 shortly and anticipate even further dwindling of their current number.
“It is up to the government and every Hong Kong citizen to stand up for dolphins,” Samuel Hung, the organization’s chairman, told AFP. “We risk losing them unless we all take action.”
A loss of habitat in addition to increasing pollution of the air and ocean waters are major contributing factors to the dwindling of the pink dolphin population. Video studies done of dolphin mothers in the wild are showing an increasing number of calves who do not survive into maturity and many scientists believe that the mother dolphin’s milk has been tainted with environmental poisons. There are current plans to add an additional runway to Hong Kong International Airport which will further reduce the dolphin’s already shrunken habitat.
The Conservation Society is calling on Hong Kong residents as well as environmentalist worldwide to bring attention to the problem and work toward reducing the negative factors currently impacting the rare pink dolphin.
A recent viral video has put the plight of the pink dolphin in the spotlight. The video shows a group of pink dolphins helping a mother support the body of her dead calf above water.
A boat of tourists watched the heartbreaking scene unfold.
“I started to film and it was then that I noticed the dead baby calf,” tour guide Ho Tak-Ching told the South China Morning Post. “From its size and color, I guessed it was a newborn. It was so depressing and so very sad. While I was taking the video I couldn’t stop myself crying.”
A Dolphinwatch spokes person told the newspaper the calf likely died when polluted seawater was passed through the mother’s milk.
On The Web:
Pink dolphins disappearing from Hong Kong waters
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/pink-dolphins-disappearing-hong-kong-article-1.1337546