Indus River Dolphins :

There are between five and 11 Indus river dolphins in the 185-km stretch of the Beas that flows through Punjab, but the sighting of young calves, however, signalled a breeding population and hope for revival, according to the first organised survey by World Wildlife Federation-India and the state’s department of Punjab.

indus river dolphin facts:

The blind Indus dolphin is an internationally threatened mammal..Almost impenetrable barrages have carved up its home range. It has virtually no room to move along the great span of the river. This river was once its home territory. The waters of the Indus are polluted by human activity as it runs its tremendous course to the ocean. The dolphin has to compete with man for the fish that forms an essential part of its diet. Occasionally the river dolphin is trapped in fishing nets, which can mean death for the mammal. As is the case in many developing countries, there are limited financial resources to conserve this rare animal.

indus river dolphin habitat

The Indus River dolphin is a very unusual kind of cetacean. A century of living in the turbid waters of the Indus has meant that its eyes are no longer needed. It has developed a sophisticated sonar system known as echolocation that it uses to steer with and hunt underwater. The current population of the river dolphin is thought to be 500. Its habitat is now confined to the area between two barrages, the Guddu and Taunsa Barrages, on the Indus.24 A relative of the Indus River dolphin, the Ganges dolphin closely resembles it, but is, in fact, a distinct species. Other river dolphins include the Amazon River dolphin and the Yangzte River dolphin, all of which are distinct species. The closest known interaction of the river dolphin with humans is with the Indus Boat people, the Mohannas, who have lived on this river for centuries. The Mohannas too know no home other than the Indus, for they are truly boat people. Their houseboats drift silently up and down the river all year long using only sails and oars to propel them. The boat people are fishermen, who rely on the fishing contract issued by the government to harvest farmed fish on the reservoirs of the Indus barrages and dams. Poverty and neglect imperil the Mohanna's non-invasive way of life, and they suffer from poor health, education and low-income status.

indus river dolphin conservation:

The river dolphin has been featured in the folklore of the boat people, mostly as a benign and harmless creature. Now these two gentle life forms are thrown together into an awkward coexistence as they compete for food and space on the river. Caught in this impasse of neutrality, the fishermen do not proactively conserve the dolphin, although they are keenly tuned into the behavior and whereabouts of the dolphin in the river. The Adventure Foundation of Pakistan (AFP), a non-commercial venture, has initiated the Indus boat safari to raise.

Size nad weight:

The Indus river dolphins grow up to 8.2 ft (2.5 m) in length, and weigh between 155 to 245 lb (70 to 111 kg). The Ganges river dolphin is a bit bigger, growing 7 to 8.9 ft (2.1 to 2.7m) in length and 330 to 374 lbs (150 to 169 kg). Both species are classified as endangered by the IUCN; the Indus River dolphins have a population of 1,816 and Ganges river dolphin have somewhere between 1,200 - 1,800 individuals left. Their biggest threats include dams & barrages altering rivers for human needs, fishing nets, pollution, and underwater noise.