Giant Myanmar Irrawaddy Dolphin Died of Old Age: Environmentalists

Topic: 

Conservation, Economy, Environment, Fishing, illegal fishing, Irrawaddy Dolphin, Madaya Township, Mandalay Region, Unesco, Wildlife Conservation Society

Description: 

"An Irrawaddy dolphin was found dead on Tuesday in Madaya Township, Mandalay Region, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS). The male dolphin died of old age and was 220cm long and 132cm in circumference, the NGO said. U Hkyaw Hla Thein, who is responsible for dolphin conservation at the WCS, said it was about 6cm longer than the next biggest dolphin they had found. “Its teeth show it was quite old and, to confirm it, we examined its stomach and found it was empty. We do not know how long it had been since it ate. So we concluded it died of old age,” he added. The Fisheries Department and WCS said it was the biggest dolphin ever found dead between Mandalay and Bhamo. Some residents and civil society organizations suggested the dolphin died because of electrofishing. “Fish are abundant where the dolphin was found dead, which attracts electrofishers. And there are also fishing lakes in the area. Those working at the fishing lakes downstream said the dolphin died due to electrofishing,” said U Maung Maung Oo, leader of the Sein Yaung So environmental group. Fisherman U Maung Lay of Sin Kyun Village also suggested that the dolphin died of electrofishing..."

Creator/author: 

De Hlaing Win

Source/publisher: 

"The Irrawaddy" (Thailand)

Date of Publication: 

2020-01-09

Date of entry: 

2020-01-21

Grouping: 

  • Individual Documents

Category: 

Countries: 

Myanmar

Language: 

English

Resource Type: 

text

Text quality: 

    • Good