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Bottlenose dolphins breaching

Landmark report reveals UK wildlife’s devastating decline

With whales and dolphins already facing many threats, a landmark report released this week reveals...
Dolphins with oil rig

Go ahead for new UK oil and gas exploration threatens whales and dolphins

Permission has been granted for the development of the UK's biggest untapped oilfield off Shetland,...
Icelandic hunting vessels in port

Whaling boat kept in port after more hunt cruelty exposed

Icelandic whale hunting fleet One of the whaling boats involved in the latest hunts in...
Commerson's dolphin

New Important Marine Mammal Areas added to global ocean conservation list

Commerson's dolphin Experts from a number of countries have mapped out a new set of...

Pollution threatens future of white dolphins in China

Researchers in China are growing increasingly concerned about levels of pollution threatening the survival of Chinese white dolphins.  Marine biologists at the Sun Yat-sen University (SYSU) in southern China’s Guangdong province claim that the species will drop by 74% in the next 60 years because of the amount of heavy metals, such as mercury and lead, found in the Pearl River Delta, south of China’s east coast.  These pollutants cause damage to the dolphins nervous system and immune system, and are increasing the chances of the Chinese white dolphin becoming extinct.

The pollution stems from insecticide and fertilizers used in the area, leading to calls for the Chinese authorities to improve the water quality in south China’s Pearl river estuary to ensure the species’ survival.

Chinese white dolphins, also known as Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, are coastal animals that can venturing quite far landward into estuaries and mangroves.