The rare, endangered, Chinese White Dolphin is a unique and amazing animal found in certain parts of the world. The beautiful Sousa Chinensis is, in adulthood, white or pink. It is 2.7 meters long and weighs almost 250 kilograms. When born, it’s 1 meter long and stays with its mother for three years. It’s a humpback dolphin with blowhole for breathing and fluke for movement. They have almost 135 teeth and live up to 40 years depending on their teeth. Chinese White Dolphins are medium in size and have beautiful pink and white coloring.

 
This Indo-Pacific dolphin stays close to China’s southeastern coastal waters in their ten and less groups. They are estuary dolphins found in the Pearl River and sometimes the Yangste River, in China. An estuary is where a freshwater river meets a saltwater ocean. These mascots of Hong-Kong sometimes drift south of their well-known main location. Also found near Australia and Africa, they like to stay in sub-tropical estuaries. These Indian and Pacific Ocean-hugging dolphins homes are being destroyed everyday by pollution, boats, and construction.

 
These wonderful animals are on the verge of extinction. 1996 was dangerously close to wiping out this beautiful species, due to toxic waste in the Pearl River, where most of this population lives. None of the young babies survived. Now, there is only about 100-150 of these unique creatures left on the planet.

 These Cetaceans eat only the half-freshwater and half-saltwater fish that they live with. Needing to eat 8% of their body fat a day, they settle for shrimp, octopus and crab. Unlike many dolphins, they aren’t picky, which make them extremely adaptable.

 
Chinese White Dolphins main predators are Killer Whales and some sharks.

 
There’s an old myth surrounding the Chinese White Dolphin because they sometimes can be pink. This legend is that once, a long time ago, the Chinese White Dolphin, always spending time on the surface, was sunburned and it’s offspring were forever pink. The Sousa Chinensis, or the Chinese White Dolphin is a rare, amazing, endangered animal with so many wonderful attributes distinguishing them from other dolphins and animals.

 

Author: Emily L
Published: 05/2012

 

Sources:
Hubpages.com, http://hubpages.com/hub/Chinese-White-Dolphin, Laurent Mikhail, 2001; CWD.gov, http://www.cwd.gov.cn/en/zhongun.asp, Unknown, 2003; Wikipedia.com, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_White_Dolphin, Anonymous, January 14, 2011; Animal, David Burnie, Dr. Don E. Wilson, Dr. Juliet Clutton-Brock, DK Publishing Inc., 2001, 2005, New York, New York

 

Photo Credit:
 http://www.dbyc.net/index.php/main/dolphins/