Researchers are surprised after seeing a rare baby dolphin swimming with a pod of dolphins different from its own kind in Cambodia. The baby dolphin, which is endangered, belongs to a species called the Irrawaddy.
The baby dolphin was probably with its mom among a group of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins. Irrawaddy dolphins are dark gray and have flat faces while Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins are pink with long noses.
Hence, the baby dolphin and its mom were easy to spot because they were so different from the others, as reported by Live Science.
On May 31st, scientists from Marine Conservation Cambodia (MCC) shared news of their sightings on Facebook. They said it was “extremely unusual” because these two types of dolphins usually only meet when they’re hunting for food in the same spot.
Becky Chambers, who leads the Cambodian Marine Mammal Conservation Project at MCC, told Live Science that her team was excited to spot the baby dolphin. However, they’re puzzled about why these two species of dolphins were found at the same location.
“It is a bit of a mystery,” Chambers said. “These are both highly threatened populations of dolphins and the fact that they’re having interactions is, at the moment, I would say neither good nor bad.”
Irrawaddy dolphins are on the verge of extinction
Irrawaddy dolphins, famous for spitting water and assisting fishermen, are at risk of disappearing. One reason is they often get caught in fishing gear. Researchers don’t have an exact count of how many are left, but they’re scattered in small groups, which is bad news for their survival, as per the IUCN Red List.
Chambers and her team were out doing dolphin surveys in southern Cambodia on March 12th when they came across the baby Irrawaddy dolphin. “We see juveniles quite often, but this was a newborn, which is an event in itself,” she said.
While Irrawaddy dolphins have been seen intermingling with Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, it’s very unusual. The baby dolphin they found had all the characteristics of an Irrawaddy calf, suggesting it likely came from two Irrawaddy dolphin parents.
Both dolphin species sometimes help raise babies that aren’t theirs, and sometimes they even help babies from other species. However, it’s not clear if the Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins were trying to look after or hurt the baby Irrawaddy dolphin.
Chambers said the humpback dolphins might have been trying to split the baby from its mom out of competition. “I’m on the fence about whether this was an aggressive interaction or not,” she said.
On April 23rd, someone from Chambers’ team likely spotted the same calf yet again.