Phnom Penh: Another newborn Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin has been spotted, bringing the number of newborn dolphin calves in Cambodia to four so far this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) said in a news release on Wednesday. The new calf, about two-day old, was sighted on Tuesday between the Kampi and Chroy Banteay dolphin pools in Kratie province's Chetr Borei district by a team of researchers from the Fisheries Administration and the World Wide Fund for Nature.

According to Namibia Press Agency, this newborn dolphin was seen swimming alongside a pod of seven adult dolphins. It marks the fourth dolphin calf born in 2025, adding to the critically endangered Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins' population. The species has been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.

In the previous year, Cambodia recorded a total of nine newborn dolphin calves, with four fatalities. The MAFF estimates that as of last year, there are 105 Irrawaddy dolphins living along a 180-km main channel of the Mekong River in the northeast Stung Treng and Kratie provinces.