The lockdown has proven to be a boon for nature in myriadways. In the initial months there was a marked difference in pollution levelsin cities across the world, and the absence of human activity continues toallow animals and birds to come out in the open like never before.
More recently, the number of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins seen around Hong Kong has jumped up owing to a pause in high-speed ferry traffic amid lockdown.
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Marine scientist Lindsay Porter of the University of St. Andrews said the mammals ¨C also known as Chinese white dolphins and pink dolphins ¨C were moving back into parts of the Pearl River Delta that they typically avoided due to the ferries that connect Hong Kong and Macau.
According to?Reuters,?dolphin numbers in the area had jumped by up to 30% since March when the ferry traffic was suspended, allowing scientists a rare opportunity to study how underwater noise affected their behaviour.
¡°These waters, whichwere once one of the busiest thoroughfares in Hong Kong, have now become veryquiet,¡± said Porter who has studied dolphins for three decades from Hong Kong.
Porter and her team drop microphones into the water and use drones to watch for dolphins.
The research suggested the dolphins had adapted more rapidlythan expected to the quiet environment, and the population was likely torebound when such stressors were removed.
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Scientists think there are about 2,000 dolphins in the entire Pearl River estuary.?¡°I sometimes feel that we¡¯re studying the slow demise of this population, which can be really sad,¡± she said.??
Hong Kong¡¯s conservation plans have focused on opening marine parks, where ship traffic is limited but not banned. Three of those areas are frequented by dolphins.
The Hong Kong WWF, a conservation group, and Porter saidsuch measures were inadequate as dolphins were still in danger of being hit byferries as they moved between the protected areas.
Back in April, the rare South Asian River Dolphin, also known as the Ganges Dolphin, was spotted near the ghats in Kolkata. It is apparently the only freshwater dolphin categorised as 'critically endangered' so its recent appearance came as a pleasant surprise to environmentalists.
Biswajit Roy Chowdhury, a senior environmental activist who spotted the Dolphins at a place called Babughat in Kolkata told?TOI?that the reduction in water pollution and human movement are the biggest reasons for their reappearance.??