Did you know? Indonesia has a freshwater dolphin usually called Pesut Mahakam (Orcaella brevirostris). Pesut Mahakam lived in Mahakam River, East Kalimantan, but you can meet another freshwater dolphin in Irrawaddy River (Myanmar), Mekong River (Kamboja, Laos, Vietnam), Songkhla Lake (Thailand), and Malampaya (Philippines).
Although pesut like a dolphin, but they are different. Pesut Mahakam has small and rounded dorsal fin, high and rounded forehead, and weighs up to 130 kilograms and a length of 2.3 meters. What is unique about this animal is small eyes. His small eyes make a blurred vision.
But, they can live in the mud. This adorable animal is a carnivore, they eat fish, molluscs, and crustaceans. Pesut Mahakam usually can live with a long life of up to 28 years.
However, pesut Mahakam is now hard to find. In addition, the cause of the extinction of pesut Mahakam is that many pesut Mahakam are trapped in fishing nets. Not for consumption, but pesut Mahakam tuns out of oxygen when it emerges on the surface for so long and this is the cause of its death.
Although they live in group, they still socialize with another group.
It is rare for pesut Mahakam to come to the surface. Why is that? Because the population of pesut Mahakam isn't much, there are only tens of them left. Why nearly extinct? Pesut Mahakam is a naturally environmental controller. When the environment is clean and there are many freshwater animals, so the pesut mahakam happily live in there.
However, human are increasingly living arbitrarily. They dont protect the environment at all. They litter which causes environmental damage. So, pesut Mahakam is no longer visible to humans and you can be sure that the surrounding environment is polluted.
Now, pesut Mahakam are protected animals based constitution, UU No. 5 of 1990, about biodiversity and ecosystems and also on Government Regulation No. 7 of 1999 about pesut Mahakam are protected animals. The provincial government of East Kalimantan began to take firm action to preserve the Mahakam dolphin. Anyone littering or damaging the environment will be punished accordingly.
Reference :
Idntimes.com. (2020, 28 September). 7 Fakta Pesut Mahakam, Lumba-lumba Air Tawar Indonesia. Diakses 11 Desember 2020