DNA database for rare Chinese white dolphin founded

Hong Kong (CNS) -- The Ocean Park Conservation Foundation Hong Kong began cooperating on Saturday with Sun Yat-sen University to compile a database of gene information from Chinese white dolphins as part of a long-term conservation plan for the precious species.

The base is located at the university in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province. Samples were retrieved from waters most inhabited by Chinese white dolphins, and include the internal organs, skin and teeth of the endangered animal.

There are currently about 2,500 Chinese white dolphins in the Pearl River Delta region, the body of water between Macau and Hong Kong. The animal is listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

The foundation reported a potential sharp decline of the species by 74 percent in the next 60 years. Last year, 172 cases of dolphin strandings were reported.