Dolphins sighting near the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park a good sign

Kota Kinabalu: Recent sightings of dolphins near the Tunku Abdul Rahman Park, which went viral on the Internet recently, is a good indication of the local marine ecosystem, claim Universiti Malaysia Sabah's (UMS) Borneo Marine Research Institute Director, Prof. Dr Saleem Mustafa.

He said Sabah has the potential to become a place for dolphin and whale watching if the local marine ecosystem is effectively protected.

He said the mammal's echolocation system seems to have adapted to shallow coastal environment and may have the ability to sense conditions of the marine ecosystem.

"I must emphasise that there could be instinctive attributes and ability to perceive environmental cues that are not known to science but could be factors in the dolphin behaviour. This include their forays in the marine protected area so near the shore and so close to Kota Kinabalu," he said, Wednesday.

He said such sightings, however, are far from unusual, as most likely the mammals have a resident population in Borneo, and would venture into areas, especially where food is available and habitat.

"Food supply is a major factor in the distance they travel and visit places," he said.

Dr Saleem added if the dolphins are seen with their young ones, it would further mean that the calves felt secure in the area, as in shore and coastal areas, calves are protected from sharks. He said dolphins have good parental and nursing habits, as well as intelligent and fast learners, which may compel them to return to the same areas.

Hence, measures to protect the dolphins can also contribute to protecting the marine ecosystem in general.

"I would like to emphasise the importance of marine protected areas.

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Potential for new dolphin-watching products for Rajang and Saribas rivers

KUCHING: Irrawaddy dolphins are potential eco-tourism products for the Rajang and Saribas rivers.

Sightings of the inshore cetaceans in the state have been documented in the Sarawak River, lower waters of the Santubong branch of the Sarawak River, Rajang River, Rajang Mangrove, Saribas River and major estuaries namely Sematan, Bako, Muara Tebas, Bintulu and Lawas.

“We already have dolphin watching as a tourism product in the Santubong area. It could become potential tourism attractions in other sighted areas,” said Sarawak Forestry Corporation biologist James Bali yesterday.

He was one of the invited speakers for a series of public awareness talks at the Sarawak Biodiversity Centre in conjunction with SBC Biodiversity Day.

James said SFC had conducted many surveys including coastal, offshore and aerial surveys to study on Irrawaddy dolphins.

“We currently do not have any information on the species from Sadong River, Igan River, Baram River and Kemena River, due to lack of funds for further research.”

The Irrawaddy dolphin is the most common species and considered the flagship species in Sarawak.

It is a totally protected animal under the Wildlife Protection Ordinance 1998.

Meanwhile, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) associate professor Dr Lee Nyanti, from the Aquatic Science Department, spoke on the corals of Sarawak.

“Corals are important to medicine and pharmacology. For example, drug extract of coral sponges. The antiviral drugs Ara-A and anti-cancer agent Ara-C were developed from extracts of sponge.

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Irrawaddy Dolphins in Sabah

SANDAKAN: Dolphins are in our rivers. Irrawaddy Dolphins, to be precise. They can be found in the Kinabatangan River in Sandakan, Cowie Bay in Tawau and along the coasts of Sabah, Sarawak and Brunei.

Irrawady Dolphins are facultative river dolphins, meaning they not only swim in coastal areas but also make their way into rivers.

Teoh Shu Woan, a Marine Conservation Masters student at UMS who is currently conducting research on Irrawaddy Dolphins, has identified 28 Irrawaddy Dolphins in Cowie Bay.

“My current estimate through photo-id mark-recapture method is 28 but I need to do some adjustments to get a less bias estimate, but there are definitely more,” said Shu Woan.

According to Shu Woan, when fishermen collect fish from their nets, the Irrawaddy Dolphins would be waiting nearby.

“The fishermen would pick some fish that were caught in the net and throw them to the dolphins,” she said.

Shu Woan said the dolphins would not disturb the fish caught in the net but instead wait for the fish to be thrown to them.

Like most species of dolphins, the Irrawaddy Dolphins are not aggressive. They are intelligent creatures that are also believed to have a mutualistic relationship of co-operative fishing with traditional fishers.

In Kinabatangan, they are viewed as something sacred.

“When they (Kinabatangan community) see the dolphins, they do not disturb them or call them names because they believe that doing so will cause a huge wave,” said Shu Woan.

However, the current fickle weather has forced these creatures to refrain from traveling upstream in the Kinabatangan River.

Continue reading at: Irrawaddy Dolphins in Sabah

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