INDIA: DOLPHINS FIGHTING A LOSING BATTLE FOR SURVIVAL

By Neena Bhandari Reprint | | Print |

NEENA BHANDARI

NEW DELHI, Jun 17 1995 (IPS) - AS LITTLE AS A DECADE AGO, PEOPLE LIVING ALONG INDIA’S MIGHTY GANGES RIVER REMEMBER WATCHING ENTHRALLED AS HUNDREDS OF BLIND FRESHWATER DOLPHINS GAMBOLLED IN ITS DEPTHS.

BUT MOST OF THEIR CHILDREN BORN DURING THE DECADE DO NOT EVEN KNOW WHAT THE MAMMAL LOOKS LIKE BECAUSE IT IS NOW SIGHTED RARELY, IF EVER.

THE PLATANISTA GANGETICA, ONE OF THE ONLY FOUR SPECIES OF FRESHWATER DOLPHINS IN THE WORLD, IS FAST DEPLETING IN NUMBERS, ESPECIALLY IN CITIES WHERE FISHERMEN NET THEM FASTER THAN THEIR ABILITY TO REPRODUCE.

THEY ARE ALSO FALLING PREY TO INDUSTRIAL EFFLUENTS, HEAVY METALS AND ORANGOCHLORINE RESIDUES FINDING THEIR WAY INTO THE RIVER THAT THE DOLPHINS INHABIT RIGHT FROM THE FOOTHILLS OF THE HIMALAYAS TO THE BAY OF BENGAL.

EXPERTS SAY OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS CLOSE TO 2,000 OF THE SPECIES HAVE BEEN KILLED BECAUSE OF FISHING AND HABITAT DESTRUCTION. ONLY 4,000 OF THE DOLPHINS REMAIN IN THE RIVER SYSTEM WHOSE BASIN IS HOME TO ONE TENTH OF THE WORLD’S HUMAN POPULATION.

ACCORDING TO THE INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION, INCREASING LEVELS OF PESTICIDES IN THE RIVER CAUSED BY RUN-OFFS FROM AGRICULTURAL FIELDS ARE THE MAJOR CHEMICAL THREATS TO THE DOLPHIN AS THEY AFFECT ITS ABILITY TO REPRODUCE.

“DURING THE MONSOONS WHEN THESE CHEMICALS ARE WASHED INTO THE RIVER, A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF CADMIUM, PESTICIDES AND DDT GETS ACCUMULATED IN THE FATTY LAYERS OF THESE DOLPHINS,” SAYS PROFESSOR R K SINHA, THE PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER FOR THE INDIAN GOVERNMENT’S PROJECT FOR CONSERVING THE DOLPHINS.

THE PROJECT IS EVALUATING FACTORS SUCH AS CHANGES IN WATER QUALITY, HABITAT DEGRADATION AND POACHING THAT AFFECTS THE DISTRIBUTION AND SURVIVAL OF THE FRESHWATER DOLPHINS.

SINHA SAYS IT IS NOT ONLY IN INDIA, BUT ALSO IN NEPAL, BHUTAN AND BANGLADESH WHICH SHARE THE GANGES WATERS THAT THE NUMBERS OF THE DOLPHIN ARE FALLING DRAMATICALLY.

ONE OF THE CULPRITS IS THE CONSTRUCTION OF BARRAGES ACROSS THE RIVER WHICH PREVENT THE DOLPHINS FROM MIGRATING AND INTERBREEDING, THUS EFFECTIVELY PUTTING AN END TO HEALTHY GENETIC EXCHANGE WITHIN THEIR POPULATION.

DURING THE MONSOONS, THE MAMMALS EARLIER TRAVELLED UP TO 200 KMS. BUT THEIR MOVEMENT IS NOW RESTRICTED BECAUSE OF THE BARRAGES ACROSS THE RIVER, THE FARRAKA BARRAGE BETWEEN INDIA AND BANGLADESH BEING THE LARGEST CULPRIT.