Ganges river dolphin is a species of river dolphin found in two major rivers, Ganga and Brahmaputra and it's tributaries. It is a member of the South East Asia river dolphin. It is declared as a endangered species.
Ganges river dolphin lives in the muddy water of ganga and Brahmaputra. It has a very poor eyesight. Like other dolphin, it also uses ecolocation to navigate it prey. Ganges river dolphin and other dolphin are mammals which means that they give birth to babies. Ganges river dolphin has a long snout. It body doesn't contain any hair and is grey in colour. It skin is similar to the hippo skin.
Ganges river dolphin mostly feed on shrimps, carps and other fishes. With the help of ecolocation. Their teeth are long and thin and are visible. Their snout is similar to the facial snout. Their teeth help them to catch slippery fishes. They cases their prey with a speed of 27 km per hour in their natural habitat. Ganges river dolphin has three subspecies base on their body characteristics : gangetic dolphin, Ganges Susu and shushuk.
Indus dolphin another species of the South East Asian dolphin exist in the Indus river system. It only exists only in Pakistan. A very small population was found in the harike wetland in Punjab.
The major threat is from fishing nets. Fishermen living near the river keep nets for fishing, sometimes dolphin get struck between this net and die out. This is called bycatch. Another problem is due to pollution. The Ganga river is declared as one of the polluted rivers in the world. Other problems include dams. Various dams are made in the Ganga river this minimises the area of movement and block them in a particular area. Sometimes during high tide, some young dolphin are left in the banks of the river. People kill this animal for meat and oil which are use to catch catfish.
Conservation of this species is going on. For the better protection of this marine mammal factory waste are check. It is given protection by the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Fishermen are ask to use their nets properly. Many fishermen are now practicing the Chinese fishing net technique. Data is being collected to know this species more properly. The Ganga Action Plan was launched to clean Ganga from all it wastes. Many governmental and non governmental association are working to improve the Ganga river bank. Dolphin conservation centres are established to record the numbers of dolphin and their behavior. It is found in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh. The Vikramshila gangetic dolphin sanctuary is established to protect this species and give them a safe home. It is the national aquatic animal of India and the city animal of Guwahati.
Why do they matter?
The sight of a river dolphin ensures that the river is in good health. Sometimes they are beneficial to fishermen. During fishing, the dolphin chases the fishes towards the fishermens' boat. If there were no dolphin we won't get the idea of sonar technology.
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