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This is the first tagging, not only in India, but also for the species, and this milestone is a significant advancement of Project Dolphin.

According to World Wildlife Fund (WWF), experts from WWF in collaboration with the Sindh Wildlife Department, safely tagged three Indus dolphins in Pakistan with satellite transmitters in January 2022. That was the first time that such technology was used on any of the river dolphin species in Asia.

The Ganges dolphin is an indicator species, whose status provides information on the overall condition of the ecosystem and of other species in that ecosystem, for the Ganga ecosystem and is extremely vulnerable to changes in water quality and flow.

It is categorised as endangered on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List.

The Ganges River Dolphin is unique in its ecology, being nearly blind and relying on echolocation for its biological needs.

Approximately 90% of the species’ population resides in India, historically distributed across the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli river systems. However, its distribution has drastically declined over the past century.

In 2022, the Union environment ministry designated October 5 as National Dolphin Day, which will be celebrated annually.

The tagging exercise will help understand their seasonal and migratory patterns, range, distribution, and habitat utilization, particularly in fragmented or disturbed river systems.

 

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