PHNOM PENH: The critically endangered Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins have been attracting more domestic and foreign tourists to northeast Cambodia's Kratie province, generating substantial income for local communities, a tourist police official said.
Considered a national living treasure by the Cambodian government, the rare dolphins have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species since 2004.
It is estimated that currently, 111 dolphins are living along a 120-km main channel of the Mekong River in north-east Kratie and Stung Treng provinces.
Srey Sitha, a tourist police official at the Kampi Dolphin Resort in Kratie province, said the number of foreign tourists to the dolphin reserve has been on the rise in recent months, thanks to accessible roads and bridges built by China.
Sitha said the recently-completed Chinese-built road 377 has played a vital role in facilitating tourists' travel to the dolphin attraction.
"According to our daily statistics, there has been a high increase in the number of tourists in late October and early November," Sitha said. "I would like to thank China for having constructed bridges and roads, which have greatly facilitated our people's travel, even at night."
A tourist, Nhem Mom, who travelled to Kratie province to see the dolphins, said, "I feel excited to see them because I have never seen them before." - Xinhua
