Chinese white dolphin found dead on Hong Kong shores, necropsy under way
Female found near Yi O on Lantau Island on Tuesday evening, and had been seen with a calf in October
A dead Chinese white dolphin has been found on the Western shores of Hong Kong’s Lantau Island, the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation has said, with one expert suspecting pollution and stress to be the causes of death.
The carcass washed ashore near Yi O on Lantau Island on Tuesday evening. No signs of decay were found on the adult female, which was 2½ metres long (8.2 feet).
“The foundation has brought the body back to Ocean Park for detailed necropsy and analysis,” its spokesman said.
According to Viena Mak Hei-man, vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Dolphin Conservation Society, the female sub-spotted adult dolphin was believed to have lived in waters to the west and southwest of Lantau Island, and was seen with a calf in October.
“Normal mother dolphins will raise their babies for one to two years, and will not leave their babies like this,” she said.
“So it’s possible that pollution or other pressures were too much for her body to handle that she had to leave [her baby] during this period.”
