Image Source Nov 04, 2021 11:51 IST · 1 min read
Ganges River Dolphin
Ganges River Dolphins are found throughout the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India and Bangladesh.Its global population is estimated at 4,000 and nearly 80% of them are found in the Indian subcontinent.
The Ganges River Dolphins (GRDs) have been designated the National Aquatic Animal of India since 2010.
It is listed as Endangered under IUCN Red List, Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act (1972) and Appendix I of CITES.
Ganges River Dolphins (GRDs) faces many threats in the Ganga Basin - wide-scale habitat degradation, hydroelectric and development projects, industrial run-off, accidental deaths via entanglement in fishing nets and opportunistic poaching for meat and oil.
Indus River Dolphin
It is endemic to the Indus River basin of Pakistan, with a small remnant population in the Beas river in India.The Indus river dolphins are named as the national mammal of Pakistan, and the state aquatic animal of Punjab, India.
They have adapted to life in the muddy river and are functionally blind. They rely on echolocation to navigate, communicate and hunt prey including prawns, catfish, and carp.
The Indus river dolphin is listed by the IUCN as endangered on their Red List of Threatened Species.
Irrawaddy Dolphin
Irrawaddy dolphins are found in Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.Their only concentrated lagoon populations are found in Chilika Lake in Odisha, India and Songkhla Lake in southern Thailand.
IUCN: Critically Endangered (Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Thailand. Endangered (throughout their whole range).
CITES: Appendix I