CB BureauBihar will celebrate October 5 as Dolphin Day to create awareness to save the endangered species that has been declared India’s national aquatic animal. With only about 2,000 Gangetic river dolphins left in India, down from tens of thousands a few decades ago, Bihar’s move is expected to help strengthen conservation efforts. The mammals fall under Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and have been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
‘The Dolphin Day would be a part of the Wildlife Week that will be observed from Oct 2 to 8,’ Environment and Forest Department Secretary Dipak Kumar Singh informed.
The state government will rope in RK Sinha, an expert on Gangetic river dolphins and chairperson of the working group for dolphin conservation set up by the central government, along with researchers and several organizations working for the conservation of the mammal for the celebrations.
‘We will also arrange to screen films on the dolphin and involve the youth and students to spread out message of dolphin conservation,’ Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Bashir Ahmah Khan said.
The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary, the only protected area established in the world for protection and conservation of the Ganges river dolphins, is located in Bihar’s Bhagalpur District. It is spread over 50 km along the Ganges.
Last year, the Bihar government decided to set up a task force for the conservation of the endangered species. Earlier this year, the state government set up a Gangetic dolphin research centre, the first such in the country.
The Gangetic river species – found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal – is blind and finds its way in the river waters through echoes. The Gangetic dolphin is the worst suffer when pollution or silt increases in the water. This aquatic animal is very sensitive and needs fresh water to breed. The enormous pollutant load of the river affects the immune and reproductive system adversely. Pollution by fertilizers, pesticides and industrial and domestic effluents are responsible for the death of many fishes. Other threats to the dolphins include competition with humans for food and water resources; physical alteration, degradation and loss of habitats; and collision with powered vessels.
Gangetic river dolphins are being killed at an alarming rate by poachers for their flesh as well as oil, which is used as an ointment and aphrodisiac. The poaching of dolphins is a non-bailable offence and invites imprisonment of three to seven years and a fine of Rs 10,000.
The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.