Conservationists have announced that the largest population of rare Irrawaddy dolphins in the wild, totaling around 6,000, has been discovered in the freshwater regions of Bangladesh's Sundarbans and adjacent Bay of Bengal waters. This discovery, shared at the First International Conference on Marine Mammal Protected Areas in Maui by the Wildlife Conservation Society, is significant as previous known populations of these dolphins were much smaller. Dr. Steven Sanderson, president of WCS, expressed hope for the protection of these endangered species and their habitats, noting the importance of the finding in Bangladesh. The study was conducted by researchers including Brian Smith, Rubaiyat Mansur Mowgli, Samantha Strindberg from WCS, and Benazir Ahmed from Chittagong University in Bangladesh, in an area where little marine mammal research had been done before. Despite the discovery of a large population of Irrawaddy dolphins in South and Southeast Asia, researchers are concerned about the increasing threat of accidental entanglement in fishing nets. During their study, two dolphins were found drowned in fishing nets, a common problem reported by local fishermen. The Irrawaddy dolphin, Orcaella brevirostris, can grow up to eight feet in length and is found in large rivers, estuaries, and freshwater lagoons in the region. In Myanmar's Ayeyarwady River, these dolphins are known to engage in cooperative fishing with humans, where they help herd schools of fish towards fishing boats and nets, ultimately benefiting from the easy prey that falls out of the nets as fishermen pull them from the water. In 2006, WCS played a role in creating a protected area by the Ayeyarwady River to protect the endangered mammal population. WCS, based in New York, is currently collaborating with the Ministry of Environment and Forests in Bangladesh to establish protected areas for Irrawaddy and Ganges River dolphins in the Sundarbans mangrove forest. The conservation group emphasizes the importance of funding to support these initiatives, as well as their ongoing work in studying the impact of climate change on the habitat, promoting sustainable fishing practices, and initiating local ecotourism projects.