French connection
Dolphin researcher maintains lifelong link with cetaceans across the oceans
Known to many people as the "panda of the ocean", the adult humpback dolphins appear pink under sunlight, earning them the nickname "pink dolphins". The cetacean was designated as a national first-class protected wild animal in China in 1988. In 2008, it was classified as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species.
From August to September, Serres navigated the Pearl River estuary, journeying downstream to the Chinese White Dolphin Nature Reserve in Jiangmen, Guangdong. She spent five consecutive days at sea, observing and sailing for over eight hours a day.
Serres then joined a research vessel three more times, venturing into the South China Sea to gather ecological, acoustic and behavioral data on common cetacean species, while also expanding her understanding of the habitat range of rarer cetacean species.
"I hope that one day, I will see pods of Chinese white dolphins leaping joyfully across the sea, playing with people, delighted by an endless abundance of fish, free from worries of a fractured home," Serres said.
