Recently, a team of wildlife conservationists tagged the Ganges river dolphin for the first time.
Key points
- A healthy male river dolphin from Kulsi, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, was tagged and released in water.
- Execution: This was an initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. The project was executed by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and biodiversity conservation group Aaranyak. The tagging was done under Project Dolphin.
- Funding: This project was funded by the National CAMPA Authority.
- Importance: It is expected to help understand the dolphin’s seasonal and migratory patterns, range, distribution, and habitat utilisation, particularly in fragmented or disturbed river systems. Tagging river dolphins will contribute to evidence-based conservation strategies that are urgently needed for this species.
About Ganges river dolphin
- The Ganges river dolphin is unique for being nearly blind and relies on echolocation for its biological needs.
- India houses about 90% of the global population of the Ganges river dolphin, historically distributed across the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli river systems.
- Its distribution has drastically declined over the past century.
- Despite its wide range, significant knowledge gaps remain regarding this species due to its elusive behaviour.
- It surfaces for only 5-30 seconds at a time, posing a significant challenge in understanding its ecological needs and for any scientifically sound conservation interventions.
