Freshwater Dolphins in the Ganges

The Ganges River Dolphin is an endemic species of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna river systems, extending from the foot of the Himalayas to the tidal zone in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan, and is an extremely docile and graceful creature.

The Ganges River Dolphin, an extremely docile and graceful creature is an endemic species of the Ganges, Brahmaputra, and Meghna river systems, extending from the foot of the Himalayas to the tidal zone in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan..Commonly known as ‘Susu’, the Ganges River Dolphins are among the four freshwater Dolphins found in the world - the other three are the Baiji found in the Yangtze river in China, the Bhulan of the Indus in Pakistan and the Buto of the river Amazon in Latin America.

The presence of river dolphin in a river system signifies a healthy ecosystem. Since the river dolphin is at the apex of the aquatic food chain, its presence in adequate numbers symbolises greater bio diversity in the river system.

The Ganges River Dolphin is in grave danger of extinction. Its population is declining rapidly at a rate of 10% annually. In Ganga the illegal annual off take of the dolphins is estimated to be 130-160 in number. The habitat of the dolphin is greatly affected by industrial and agricultural development. If present trends continue, there may be little time to save the vulnerable Ganges River dolphins. IUCN (World Conservation Union) declared river dolphins as endangered in 1996, following which the Ganges river dolphin has been included in the Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The high mortality rate of Ganges River dolphin in India is combined with low political will, absence of grass root support for river dolphin conservation, absence of proper co-ordination among members and lack of conservation awareness among people.

In order to address the above-mentioned threats, WWF-India initiated the Dolphin Conservation Programme in 1997. Through this Programme, WWF-India is strengthening the ongoing efforts for the protection of Ganges River dolphins in the country, primarily by new and innovative initiatives aimed at improving the status of the species in the long term.

The goal of the Dolphin Conservation Programme of WWF-India, is to strengthen the ongoing efforts for the protection of river dolphins, by acting as a nodal agency and providing technical support and data base to the scientific community and the implementing authorities involved in dolphin research. The Dolphin Conservation Programme of WWF-India has been engaged in various activities to conserve the habitat of the Ganges River Dolphin and secure a future for the endangered species. The Action Plan prepared by WWF-India in 1997, has been under implementation to bring about a sustainable improvement in the status of the Dolphin.