Animalscaretips
- What is the Irrawaddy?
- Why is the Irrawaddy important?
- Is Irrawaddy dolphin a porpoise?
- Why are Irrawaddy dolphins?
- What animals live in the Irrawaddy River?
- Where is Irrawaddy?
- Are Irrawaddy dolphins friendly?
- What does the Irrawaddy dolphin eat?
- Are dolphins blind?
- Why do Irrawaddy dolphins spit?
- Who discovered the Irrawaddy dolphin?
- Are there freshwater cetaceans?
- Is a dolphin and a porpoise the same thing?
- Do porpoises live in saltwater?
What is the Irrawaddy?
The Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in discontinuous subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia.
Why is the Irrawaddy important?
The Irrawaddy dolphin is also regarded as a sacred animal by both Khmer and Lao people, and is an important source of income and jobs for communities involved in dolphin-watching ecotourism.
Is Irrawaddy dolphin a porpoise?
Excluding the functionally extinct Yangtze river dolphin, there are seven species of dolphins and porpoises that live in fresh water: Indus river dolphins; Amazon river dolphins; Ganges river dolphins; Bolivian river dolphins; Yangtze finless porpoises; Irrawaddy dolphins; and, tucuxi.
Why are Irrawaddy dolphins?
What's in a name. Irrawaddy dolphins get their name from the former name of the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar; when Myanmar was called Burma, this same river was known as the Irrawaddy River.
What animals live in the Irrawaddy River?
Irrawaddy River
These are the Green Peafowl, Black-bellied Tern, Black-headed Ibis, Oriental Darter, River Tern, Feruginous Pochard, Common Shelduck and Streak-earned Bulbul. Other notable species on the upper Irrawaddy are the Pained Stork and Greater Cormorant.
Where is Irrawaddy?
Irrawaddy River, Burmese Ayeyarwady, principal river of Myanmar (formerly Burma), running through the centre of the country. Myanmar's most important commercial waterway, it is about 1,350 miles (2,170 km) long.
Are Irrawaddy dolphins friendly?
Are they friendly? The Irrawaddy dolphins, Orcaella brevirostris, of the Irrawaddy River (Myanmar) have a friendly nature. They help fishers herd fish by driving the fishes towards the gill net laid out for fishes in the water bodies.
What does the Irrawaddy dolphin eat?
Food Habits
Irrawaddy dolphins feed on fish, cephalopods, and crustaceans. Irrawaddy dolphins sometimes spit water while feeding, which may be used to herd fish.
Are dolphins blind?
Yes, dolphins can see. ... The quality of eyesight a dolphin has often depends on its species. While many species of dolphin are known for their excellent eyesight there are some species that have poor or limited eyesight where they can only see short distances or objects that are very close in proximity.
Why do Irrawaddy dolphins spit?
Irrawaddy dolphins appear to be generalist feeders, taking a variety of fish depending on their habitat. They are known to bottom feed and sometimes surface with mud on their heads or backs. They can also spit water while feeding, apparently to help capture fish.
Who discovered the Irrawaddy dolphin?
One of the earliest recorded descriptions of the Irrawaddy dolphin was by Sir Richard Owen in 1866 based on a specimen found in 1852, in the harbour of Visakhapatnam on the east coast of India. It is one of two species in its genus.
Are there freshwater cetaceans?
The Amazon river dolphin is the most abundant freshwater cetacean and shares its habitat with the tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) in the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers. ... It frequents the river waters of Peru, Ecuador and Colombia as well as the coastal waters of South and Central America.
Is a dolphin and a porpoise the same thing?
Dolphins and porpoises differ in their faces, fins, and body shapes. Dolphins have longer noses, bigger mouths, more curved dorsal fins, and longer, leaner bodies than porpoises. ... The harbor porpoise has small pointed flippers and no beak. The dorsal fin is small and triangle-shaped.
Do porpoises live in saltwater?
Whales are marine mammals and make up part of the cetacean family, including whales, dolphins, and porpoises. ... However, most species of dolphin live in saltwater, and there aren't any species of whale that live in freshwater environments.
