By Thamanna Sadique
Ganges river dolphins inhabit the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system together with its tributaries that stretch from India through Bangladesh to Nepal as well as Bhutan.
The government published a report on Monday that showed 6,324 river dolphins live within the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus river systems of India.
The Ganges river dolphin exists throughout the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system and its tributaries that span the areas of India and Bangladesh as well as Nepal and Bhutan.
Under “Project Dolphin” researchers conducted their first extensive population survey to determine river dolphin numbers within eight Indian states including Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Assam and Punjab.
This survey establishes itself as one of the biggest freshwater surveys globally because it investigates the full range from the Ganges river dolphin in both Ganga and Brahmaputra and from the Indus river dolphin in Beas river according to “Population Status of River Dolphin in India”.
“Population Status of River Dolphin in India”.
The survey determined that 6,324 Ganges river dolphins (starting figure 5,977 and ending at 6,688) existed alongside three Indus river dolphins. The research demonstrates that dolphins flourish well in deep waters that receive minimal human interference according to the study.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced Project Dolphin on August 15, 2020 aiming to protect dolphins together with other water systems existing in aquatic environments.
Maintaining regular population surveys represents a vital practice for conservation work because river dolphins demonstrate a conservative reproductive rate while existing in global habitats which deliver the least protection.
Survey activities spanning 8,000 km took place through 2021 until 2023. Research covered a total of eight states which followed the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries and Beas river.
A total of 58 rivers received evaluation throughout the survey process. Research boats explored 28 rivers but a different 30 rivers received surveys via drivable routes at sites where Ganges river dolphins were reported historically.
Platanista gangetica or the Ganges River Dolphin exists as the rare mammals which swims through the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system across South Asian waters. Its strange appearance features a designed body, elongated snout and blind eyes that help it sense its environment through the process of echolocation while being submerged in muddy waters.