Forest Department to Conduct Study on Endangered Gangetic Dolphins

A group of fishermen set out to catch hilsa during the peak monsoon season in the Bhagirathi River at Shadipur in Jamalpur, East Burdwan district, but instead found a Ganges river dolphin caught in their net.

- STATESMAN NEWS SERVICE

The Ganges river dolphin is recognized by the central government as India's national aquatic animal.

Prashanta Pakar, a professional fisherman from Jamalpur, who caught the 50-55 kg Gangetic dolphin, said they released it back into the middle of the river after it became entangled in their fishing net.

The fishermen allegedly trapped the 40 kg creature for at least five hours, which the officials from the local Jamalpur PS rescued and supervised, releasing the bottle-nosed dolphin into the midstream of the swelled-up river. The DFO, East Burdwan, Sanchita Sharma, said that the dolphin might have entered the Damodar river stretch from the river's confluence with the Bhagirathi in Howrah.

The Bhagirathi stretch from Garh Chumuk in Howrah and Katwa in East Burdwan is considered a habitat of the endangered species (listed under schedule-1 of the wildlife protection Act, 1972), where 30 dolphins are seen hovering regularly.