DIBRUGARH: A carcass of a Gangetic dolphin was found floating in the Pahumara river in Assam’s Barpeta district on Saturday.
The locals spotted the dead dolphin at first and they immediately informed forest officials.
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A team from the Barpeta Road forest range office and members of Aranyak NGO rushed to the spot.
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“We found the dead dolphin floating in the river. We recovered the dolphin and brought the dolphin to the Barpeta road forest range office. The dolphin was estimated to be around 70 kg”, a forest official said.
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The official further said, “We suspected that the Dolphin died after getting caught in a fishing net. An autopsy of the Dolphin was conducted but most of the organs of the dolphin were decomposed.”
“The Dolphin did not die due to any disease”, the official added.
The Ganges dolphin was recognized as the State Aquatic Animal of Assam in 2008 and declared the National Aquatic Animal of India in 2009.
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In the Indian subcontinent, river dolphins are found in the river system of Ganges and Brahmaputra, Meghna in Bangladesh, and Karnaphuli in Nepal. Presently, their population in India is estimated to be 3,000-3,500. The Brahmaputra has around 250-300 of them.
Dolphins, included in Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, are frequently killed by poachers for their skin.