What is Irrawaddy dolphin?
[[Image:Irrawaddy Dolphin Sundarban West Bengal August 2019.jpg|thumb|Mother with calf from [[Sundarban National Park|Sundarban]], [[Bengal]].]] The '''Irrawaddy dolphin''' (''Orcaella brevirostris'') ([[Bengali language|Bengali]]: শুশুক ''Shushuko'') is a [[euryhaline]] species of [[oceanic dolphin]]. It is found in broken subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the [[Bay of Bengal]] and [[Southeast Asia]]. ==Habitat and its environment== [[Image:BD-fishermen.jpg|thumb|Fishermen with fishnets in [[Bangladesh]].]] Although sometimes called the [[Irrawaddy River]] [[dolphin]], it is not a true [[river dolphin]], but an [[oceanic dolphin]] that lives in [[brackish water]] near coasts, river mouths, and estuaries. It has established subpopulations in freshwater rivers, including the [[Ganges]] and the [[Mekong]], as well as the [[Irrawaddy River|Ayeyarwady River]] from which it takes its name. Its range extends from the [[Bay of Bengal]] to [[New Guinea]] and the [[Philippines]], although it does not appear to venture off shore. {{flagicon|Bangladesh}}: ~3500 ([[Vulnerable species|VU]]) in coastal waters of the Bay of Bengal<ref>{{cite news |date=2018-10-25 |title=Half of world's Irrawaddy dolphins in Bangladesh: survey |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/city/news/half-worlds-irrawaddy-dolphins-bangladesh-survey-1651597 |newspaper=The Daily Star }}</ref> and 451 (VU) in the brackish [[Sundarbans]] mangrove forest<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Smith |first1=Brian D. |last2=Braulik |first2=Gill |last3=Strindberg |first3=Samantha |last4=Benazir |first4=Ahmed |last5=Rubaiyat |first5=Mansur |date=July 2006 |title=Abundance of Irrawaddy dolphins ''(Orcaella brevirostris)'' and Ganges river dolphins ''(Platanista Gangetica gangetica)'' estimated using concurrent counts made by independent teams in waterways of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in Bangladesh |id={{INIST|17896937}} |journal=Marine Mammal Science |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=527–547 |doi=10.1111/j.1748-7692.2006.00041.x }}</ref> ==