Sometimes as many as ten dolphins each year are rescued. In both countries, there are local teams working to locate and rescue trapped dolphins and return them to their river habitat. Similarly in Uttar Pradesh in India, the same phenomenon occurs, where Ganges dolphins are reported in canals requiring rescue. Indus dolphins in Sindh Province, Pakistan accidentally leave the river and become trapped in irrigation canals where they die unless they are rescued. We are focussing on our strengths and will be providing targeted technical veterinary support to grassroots groups in India and Pakistan that are working to rescue river dolphins that are trapped in canals. The extinction of the baiji dolphin in the Yangtze River which was threatened by so many of the same issues as the Indus and Ganges river dolphins, clearly demonstrates how important conservation actions are to save species.Īddressing the conservation issues facing the Indus and Ganges dolphins requires a large coordinated effort across the species range. Several major infrastructure projects within its region will impose a real risk for catastrophic population decline in the future. Due to multiple threats, including pollution, water diversion, habitat fragmentation, and bycatch, the Ganges river dolphin is seriously threatened.
The Ganges river dolphin occurs in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, and has a higher population number than it’s neighboring subspecies. The Indus river dolphin is currently threatened by severe habitat loss due to water diversion for irrigation, population fragmentation by gated dams, and bycatch in fishing nets. A ban on the hunting of dolphins was enacted in the 1970s, and their numbers have been increasing however, the population is still small. The Indus river dolphin is endemic to Pakistan and was originally decimated by hunting. Both subspecies are classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List.
There are two distinct subspecies of river dolphins living in the rivers of South Asia, the Indus river dolphin ( Platanista gangetica minor) and the Ganges river dolphin ( Platanista gangetica gangetica).
0 kommentar(er)
