Ganges river dolphin tagged for the first time in India

Sub :Env

Sec: Species in news

Context:

A healthy male Ganges river dolphin from the Kulsi River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, was tagged for the first time under Project Dolphin.

Details:

This initiative, led by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, was executed by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and Aaranyak, a biodiversity conservation group.

Key Objectives of Tagging:

The tagging aims to study the dolphin’s migratory patterns, habitat utilization, range, and seasonal distribution.
Lightweight tags compatible with Argos satellite systems ensure minimal interference with the dolphin’s movement.

Significance:

Hailed as a historic milestone for conserving India’s national aquatic animal, funded by the National CAMPA Authority.
As an apex predator and an umbrella species, the dolphin’s conservation is vital for the health of river systems and the communities depending on these ecosystems.

Challenges:

The species is nearly blind, relying on echolocation for survival.
It’s elusive behaviour and brief surfacing (5–30 seconds) have historically hindered research.
India hosts 90% of the global population, but the dolphin’s distribution has significantly declined over the past century.

About Gangetic Dolphin:

It is a freshwater species and one of the few river dolphins found in the world.
It inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh.
Common Names: Blind dolphin, Ganges dolphin, Ganges susu, hihu, side-swimming dolphin, South Asian River Dolphin
Scientific name: Platanista gangetica
The Gangetic Dolphin has been recognized as India’s National Aquatic Animal.
Description:
- A long thin snout, rounded belly, stocky body and large flippers are characteristics of the Ganges River dolphin.
- It feeds majorly on fishes and is usually found in counter-current systems of the main river channel.
- Its eyes lack lens, and as a result, this species is also referred to as the “blind dolphin”.
- They have a highly developed bio-sonar system (echolocation technique) that facilitates them to hunt for fish even in murky waters.
- Being a mammal, the Ganges River dolphin cannot breathe in the water and must surface every 30-120 seconds. Because of the sound it produces when breathing, the animal is popularly referred to as the ‘Susu’.
Conservation status:
- IUCN: Endangered
- Wildlife (Protection) Act: Schedule-I
- CITES: Appendix I

Kulsi river:

The Kulsi River is a tributary of the Brahmaputra River in the Indian state of Assam.
The river originates from the West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya.
The river is known as the Khir River in its origin.
The confluence of the Kulsi with Brahmaputra River is at Nagarbera of Kamrup district, Assam.
Significance:
- The Kulsi River is the habitat of the endangered South Asian river dolphin (Platanista gangetica).
- This endangered dolphin (known as Xihu in the Assamese language) breeds only in the Subansiri and Kulsi rivers across the entire Brahmaputra delta.
- However, sand mining and other development activities make dolphins in the Kulsi vulnerable and the numbers of this endangered dolphin have sharply declined.

Source: TH