Environment

Punjab does a deep dive for Indus dolphins

·         Scientific Name: Platanista minor. Indus River dolphins are believed to own originated within the ancient Tethys ocean.

·         When the ocean dried up roughly fifty million years agone, the dolphins were forced to adapt to its only remaining habitat—rivers.

·         Today, theyll only be found within the lower elements of the Indus|river} in Pakistan and in River Beas, a tributary of the Indus River in Punjab, India.

·         They have custom-made to life within the muddy watercourse and are functionally blind.

·         They rely on echolocation to navigate, communicate and hunt prey as well as prawns, catfish, and carp.

·         It has been named because the national mammal of Pakistan, and therefore the state aquatic animal of Punjab, India.

·         IUCN status: Endangered.

·         They live for a minimum of for thirty years and grow over two metres long. Currently, Indus and ganges river|river} dolphins are classified as 2 subspecies under South Asian River dolphins(Platanistagangetica).

·         Gangetic dolphin Gangetic river dolphin is primarily found within the Ganges and Brahmaputra Rivers and their tributaries in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

·         Habitat: they like deep waters in and round the confluence of rivers. They conjointly act as an indicator of the health of the freshwater ecosystem as theyll only live in freshwater.

·         The Gangetic dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal.

IUCN Status: vulnerable

CITES: Appendix I (It means that we cannot transfer any tissue or sample to foreign countries while not obtaining CITES permission from the Competent

Authority of government of India) wildlife (Protection), Act 1972: Schedule

1. Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary (VGDS) in Bihar is India’s individual sanctuary for the Gangetic dolphin.