Ganges River Dolphin

In News

• Recently, the Ministry of Jal Shakti released a guide for the safe rescue and release of stranded Ganges River Dolphins.

About The Ganges river dolphin

• Scientific Name: 
  • Platanista gangetica gangetica
• Discovery: 
  • Dolphins are one of the oldest creatures in the world along with some species of turtles, crocodiles and sharks.
  •  The Ganges river dolphin was officially discovered in 1801. 
• Habitat and Distribution: 
  • It is a mammal primarily found in the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
• Characteristics: 
  • The Ganges river dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially blind. 
  • They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind.
  • They are frequently found alone or in small groups, and generally a mother and calf travel together. 
  • The species does not have a crystalline eye lens, rendering it effectively blind. Navigation and hunting are carried out using echolocation. The body is a brownish colour and stocky in the middle. 

• Threats: 
  • Dwindling populations can be attributed to wide-scale habitat degradation from pollution, hydroelectric and development projects and industrial run-off, as well as accidental deaths via entanglement in fishing nets or by villagers from curiosity, opportunistic poaching for meat and oil in certain pockets of the country.
  • They often accidentally enter canal channels in northern India and are often entrapped, and die as they are unable to swim up against the gradient, eventually getting stressed and harassed by the locals.

• Conservation Status: 
  • Ganges River Dolphin is listed as Endangered by IUCN.

Source: TH