| Chinese white dolphin | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Mammalia |
| Order: | Cetacea |
| Family: | Delphinidae |
| Genus: | Sousa |
| Species: | S. chinensis |
| Subspecies: | S. c. chinensis |
| Trinomial name | |
| Sousa chinensis chinensis (Osbeck, 1765) |
|
| Chinese white dolphin range (blue area) | |
The Chinese white dolphin (Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin, Sousa chinensis chinensis; Chinese: 中華白海豚; pinyin: Zhōnghuá bái hǎitún) is a humpback dolphin species, one of eighty cetacean species. An adult is white or pink and may appear as an albino dolphin to some. Uniquely, the population along the Chinese coast has pink skin,[2] and the pink color originates not from a pigment, but from blood vessels which were overdeveloped for thermoregulation. The body length is 2 to 3.5 m (6 ft 7 in to 11 ft 6 in) for adults 1 m (3 ft 3 in) for infants. An adult weighs 150 to 230 kg (330 to 510 lb). Chinese white dolphins live up to 40 years, as determined by the analysis of their teeth.
These dolphins inhabit the waters of Southeast Asia and breed from South Africa to Australia. There are two subspecies, with Sumatra, one of the Indonesian islands, as the dividing line between the Chinese and the Western subspecies, Sousa chinensis plumbea. The two subspecies differ in color and dorsal fin size. The subspecies found in Southeast Asia has pinkish white skin and a larger dorsal fin but lacks the fatty hump of South African and Australian relations.
At birth, the dolphins are black. They change to grey, then pinkish with spots when young. Adults are white.
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Chinese white dolphins swim to the water surface to breathe every twenty to thirty seconds and after that, they will dive into deep water again. A calf dolphin surfaces from the water twice as much as an adult. This is because calves have a smaller lung capacity than an adult dolphin. Adult dolphins can stay underwater for about two to eight minutes but a calf can only stay underwater for one to three minutes. Adult dolphins rarely stay under water for more than four minutes. They sometimes jump out of water,exposing their whole body. Besides jumping out of water, white dolphins also come up vertically out of the water, exposing the front half of their body. They have a pair of protruding eyes and they can see clearly in both air and water.
Chinese white dolphins are sociable creatures and live in groups of three to four. Female white dolphins become mature at ten years old while the males become mature at thirteen years old. The Chinese white dolphins usually mate from the end of summer to autumn. Infant dolphins are usually born eleven months after the mating. Mature female white dolphins can give birth every three years and the parental care will last until their offspring can find food themselves.
ن==Dolphin watching== Hong Kong Dolphinwatch has been running boat trips to visit the Chinese white dolphins for the past twelve years. The dolphins mainly live in the waters of Lantau North, Southeast Lantau, the Soko Islands and Peng Chau. The trips run by Hong Kong Dolphinwatch are done primarily with the purpose of raising awareness amongst Hong Kong residents regarding the dolphins, and the operation strictly adheres to the Code of Conduct for Dolphin Watching Activities. Ten percent of the profits of the organization goes into research for Friends of the Earth (HK)'s Water Action Group, which is a charity aimed to raise public awareness of Hong Kong's coastal environment (see Environment of Hong Kong).
There have been some recent reports of dolphin watching practices that have further endangered the Chinese white dolphins. However, these generally are small thin and locally organised one-off tours or private pleasure boats that do not adhere to the Hong Kong Agricultural and Fisheries Department's voluntary Code of Conduct for Dolphin Watching Activities. The basic principles of these codes of conduct are: always observe the dolphins from a distance, and not attempting to physically contact, feed or harm the dolphins. Additionally, boats should maintain a slow and steady speed, not exceeding 10 knots; and the boat should always maintain a parallel movement to the dolphin's course.[3]
The Cantonese has a slang expression "Wu Gei Bak Gei" (often written as 烏忌白忌, lit. "black taboo white taboo") which means someone being a bad omen or a nuisance etc. The phrase originates from the Cantonese fisher people, because they claim that the dolphins eat the fish in their nets.
However, in proper Chinese, it should be written as 烏鱀白鱀, with the "Gei" originally in olden Chinese, means dolphins. The "Wu" referring to the finless porpoises, which are black, and the "bak", white, referring to Chinese river dolphins. These two species often interrupt and ruin the fishermen's catch. As years passed, because "dolphin" sounds the same as "bad luck", the meaning of the phrase changed. However, in Cantonese, the "wu" refers to the calves of Chinese white dolphin and "bak" refers to the adults. Note that river dolphins (Baiji) do not exist in Hong Kong. Nowadays, dolphins are not called "gei" anymore, but 海豚 (Hoi tuen), literally meaning "Sea pig".
The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin is listed on Appendix II[4] of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS). It is listed on Appendix II[4] as it has an unfavourable conservation status or would benefit significantly from international co-operation organised by tailored agreements.
The Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin is also covered by the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Cetaceans and Their Habitats in the Pacific Islands Region (Pacific Cetaceans MoU).