GUWAHATI: The first-ever tagging of a Ganges River Dolphin was accomplished in Assam on Wednesday, December 18. This achievement was shared by Union Environment Minister Bhupen Yadav via a social media post on “X”.
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“Happy to share the news of the first-ever tagging of Ganges River Dolphin in Assam—a istoric milestone for the species and India!” Yadav stated on the platform.
The initiative, funded by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the National Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA), is led by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and Aaranyak.
The project aims to enhance understanding and conservation efforts for the endangered Ganges River Dolphin, which is India’s National Aquatic Animal. Once widespread in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems across Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, the species has become extinct in much of its former range.
The Ganges River Dolphin is unique to freshwater habitats and is nearly blind, relying on ultrasonic sounds to locate prey. Assam’s Brahmaputra River and its tributaries, Kulsi and Subansiri, remain the last key habitats for the species, though population declines have been noted in these regions as well due to habitat disruptions.
Local communities and researchers have attributed these declines to dams in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, which fragment habitats and limit prey access.
