BHUBANESWAR: The back-to-back casualties of Irrawady dolphins, hit by the propellers of boats, has prompted the Wildlife Wing of Forest Department to plan a core area which could give the mammals a safe haven.
Three dolphins have been found dead in Satapada during the December-January period, the peak tourist season. In all cases they fell victim to propellers of motorised boats.
conservation Fishing casualties Fishing has dwindled the numbers of the pantropical spotted dolphin, a Pacific Ocean inhabitant, at a worrying rate. Initially the cause was traced to
Already facing various threats, the Gangetic dolphin population in the state could face more dangers with the start of seismic survey of the Brahmaputra. Experts fear that activities carried under the seismic survey could seriously harm the small population found in the river.
Clearing the air over the seismic survey on the Brahmaputra riverbed, the Multi Disciplinary Advisory Group (MDAG), constituted by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests for providing guidance on seismic survey, today clarified that Oil India Limited (OIL) had not been allowed to carry out any survey.
GUWAHATI, Dec 15: Green signal from the Multi-Disciplinary Group (MDAG) constituted in accordance with the directive of the Ministry of Environment and Forest is a must for Oil India Limited (OIL) to conduct the proposed seismic survey of the Brahmaputra bed. The MDAG will give its mandatory nod only if it finds that the survey will not affect the aquatic animals of the river.
Sindh Wildlife Minister Daya Ram told the provincial legislative house that the Indus River has a reserve of around 922 Blind Dolphins. Responding to a question, he said that the government has taken effective measures to prevent the extinction of the blind dolphins, whose number has increased from 150 in 1974 to 922 in March 2008. The number is increasing day by day, he added.
MUCH to the pleasure of the wildlife conservationists, a survey along Bangladesh's coast and estuaries counted about six thousand of the Irrawaddy dolphins. Their existence was believed to be under serious threat. The International Union of Conservation of Nature had put it in the list of critically endangered animals.
