Named Shushuk in Bangla, it's an endemic aquatic mammal found only in the Indian subcontinent.Īccording to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Ganges river dolphin is endangered globally as well as in Bangladesh (IUCN Bangladesh, 2015). It's a good indicator," said Dr Kibria.Īccording to experts, the Ganges river dolphin was first discovered in 1801. "We get an idea of the river's health from the presence of dolphins.
He also said conserving dolphins is important for the river's ecosystem. "Just last month, we conducted a post-mortem on a dead dolphin at Chattogram Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (CVASU) and found that it was killed from strangulation," he said. "While trying to eat fish caught in the net, they get strangulated and die," he said, adding, "We urge authorities to put a stop to the use of gill nets in the river." He added that most of these deaths are from strangulation in fishnets.
Wiped out from the river in the near future." If proper steps are not taken in time, they could get "The rate at which dolphins are dying in the river is way faster than their reproduction rate. This means a dolphin can give birth to around five calves during its reproductive years at maximum, he said. With a lifespan of 25 years on average, a dolphin takes nine to 10 years to mature, and it takes around two years for an adult dolphin to birth a calf. However, that's not nearly enough," he said. "This goes to show the benefit of following our recommendations. As a result, the rate of death has decreased to a great extent."įor example, he said, a total of 18 dolphins were killed in the five months between September 2017 and February 2018.Ĭompared to this, a total of 28 dolphins were killed in the three years between February 2018 and December 2020, while this year has seen the death of three more. "The authorities actually complied with most of the recommendations. "At the time, we submitted a six-point recommendation to the authorities, which included a ban on plying mechanised boats in the river, a stop to extracting soil from the river, not allowing gill nets for fishing in the river, and declaring it as a sanctuary for dolphins," he said. It was found that the cause of death was an injury caused by a sharp propeller. Kibria, also coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory of Chittagong University, said they conducted the first autopsy of one such dolphin carcass in February 2018.
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