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  Channel NewsAsia 9 Apr 06
China plans first reserve for endangered white dolphin

BEIJING : China will set up its first reserve for the endangered white dolphin, known as "the panda of the ocean" because of its slim survival chance, state media has reported.

The city of Zhuhai, in the southern province of Guangdong, had set aside 460 square kilometres (180 square miles) in Guandi Bay for the reserve, with construction set to start by the end of the year, the Xinhua news agency said.

There are about 2,000 white dolphins left in China, and more than half live in the Pearl River estuary in south China, according to Chen Jialin, an official in charge of white dolphin rescue efforts.

"Pollutants discharged into the water by paper mills, chemical plants and plating factories along the river has been destroying the dolphins' habitat," Chen told Xinhua. - AFP /ct

BBC 9 Apr 06
China builds rare dolphin reserve

China is to set up a sanctuary for the highly endangered white dolphin, a species unique to the country. The reserve, on the southern coast of China, will include a rescue centre near the city of Zhuhai.

Pollution from factories, paper mills and chemical plants has destroyed much of the dolphins' habitat, the director of the project said. Only around 2,000 white dolphins are thought to exist, with most living in the Pearl River estuary.

The reserve, in the eastern province of Fujian, will be about 178 square miles (460 square kilometres) with building to begin by the end of the year, the Xinhua News Agency said.

Some 19 white dolphins, also called "pandas in the ocean" because of their rarity, have died over the past three years as a result of pollutants, Chen Jialin, director of the Chinese White Dolphin Natural Reserve, said.
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