[Linsday Porter/ WWF Hong Kong]. Reproduced with permission from WWF. © [2008] World Wide Fund For Nature Hong Kong. All rights reserved. There are about 100 Chinese white dolphins left in the wild. These creatures are very playful and friendly animals. The body of an adult dolphin is usually 200 – 350 centimeters long, and the weight of an average dolphin is usually 150 – 230 kilograms. When a baby dolphin is born, it is usually only about 1 meter long.

The Chinese white dolphin’s skin colour changes as the dolphin ages. When a dolphin is just born, the skin colour is grey. Once it gets a little older, it starts to develop spots and freckles, and then finally, the skin colour becomes a light pinkish colour. The one way to determine how old a dolphin is to inspect its teeth. The Chinese white dolphin’s life expectancy is also quite high, because some dolphins have been found to live for over 40 years. [Linsday Porter/ WWF Hong Kong]. Reproduced with permission from WWF. © [2008] World Wide Fund For Nature Hong Kong. All rights reserved.

Dolphins behave in very different ways. One of the things they usually do is called “Breaching” (Picture1.1), in which the dolphin leaps out of the water and splashes back in the sea. They do it to stun their prey, get rid of itchy parasites and just to socialize! They use up a lot of energy when they breach. Another one is Spy-hopping (Picture1.2), and it refers to a dolphin that rises above the water to check around it’s surroundings. Finally, they do something called “Porpoising” which is when they jump up in the air, and dive down again, and it is mainly used by fast moving dolphins. The resistance of air is smaller than water so they porpoise to chase fish. Picture Breaching Picture 1.2 – Spy-hopping Picture 1.3 – Porpoising [HKDCS]. © [2008] HKDCS. All rights reserved.

The habitat of the Chinese White Dolphin is highlighted in blue. The Chinese white dolphin can be found in the areas of South-East Asia, and sometimes, they can breed all the way to South Africa and Australia. The Chinese white dolphin is not commonly found in waters more than a few kilometers away from shore. They usually prefer areas with mangrove swamps, lagoons, reefs, and sand or mudbanks. They also prefer water that is less than 25 meters deep. They also like waters that are relatively sheltered.

Some threats to the Chinese White dolphin include: Boat traffic [Pic2.1], as the high speed of the boats and propellers can cause harm to the dolphins. Lots of dolphins have been found with propeller cuts on their body. Unfortunately, many dolphin Reclamation [Pic2.2] also affects the dolphins as the Hong Kong government sometimes reclaims land over some Chinese white dolphin territory, and the habitat of the dolphins will become smaller and smaller. Reclamation [Pic2.2] Boat traffic [Pic2.1]

The Chinese white dolphin’s favorite food is fish. In the stomachs of the Chinese white dolphins, they have found the remains of over 20 different species of fish, including the Croaker, the Lion-head Croaker and Thryssa which are fishes that we also eat! These dolphins also eat squid and octopuses, which are cephalopods but they prefer fish much more.

The dolphin is currently at a Data- deficient conservation status which means that there is not enough research done to accurately publish the conservation status of the Chinese white dolphin. It is predicted that the Chinese white dolphin is currently threatened as there are only about 80 – 140 of them in the wild.

What can you do to help? There are lots of ways that you can help save the Chinese white dolphins. You can buy merchandise from the HKDCS souvenir shop, in which all the money made will go straight towards funding for dolphin conservation projects and research projects. You can also join the WWF’s adopt-a-dolphin program which includes paying $290 a month so you can preserve a dolphin’s future generations!