Malaysia: Rare dolphins sighted in Sarawak

Rintos Mail The Star 18 Dec 10;

FOUR species of inshore cetaceans have been sighted inhabiting the coastal waters and main estuaries of Sarawak.

They are the Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus), Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis) and Finless porpoise (Neophocaenia phacaenoides).

Of the four, the Irrawaddy dolphin was the most common and could be considered as the flagship species of Sarawak, said Sarawak Forestry Corporation (SFC) international initiatives/species at risk manager James Bali when presenting his paper on Records of the Irrawaddy in Sarawak, with Special Reference to Batang Lupar, Saribas, Rajang and Lassa.

He was one of the presenters at the three-day 10th Hornbill Workshop themed “Managing Ecosystem for Sustainability” organised by SFC in Miri, which ended yesterday.

Bali said sightings of the Irrawaddy dolphins in Sarawak had been documented from Sarawak River, lower waters of Santubong branch of the Sarawak River, Rajang River, Rajang Mangrove, Saribas River, major estuaries namely Sematan, Santubong, Bako, Muara Tebas, Bintulu, Lawas and Kuala Paloh by journalists and scientists.

Based on a 2008 assessment by the World Convention Union Red List of Threatened Species, the Irrawaddy dolphins are classified as “Vulnerable” species in Bangladesh and India, but “Critically Endangered” in Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia with the population trend decreasing in Sarawak.

In Sarawak, this species is listed as Totally Protected Animal under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance, 1998.

Earlier in his presentation on “An Offshore Boat Survey on Cetaceans in Sarawak”, he said seven species, 21 sightings and 144 individuals of cetaceans were recorded in 2008.

The individual cetaceans comprised Spinner (Stenella longirostris), Pantropical Spotted (Tenella attenuata), Indo-Pacific bottlenose, Common bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus), Indo-Pacific humpback and Irrawaddy.

Bali said the most significant finding during the survey was two sightings of the Common bottlenose at the North Luconia Shoal (Terumbu Raja Jarum), the first record of the species in Sarawak waters.