In a groundbreaking effort for wildlife conservation, a team of conservationists in India has successfully tagged a Ganges river dolphin for the first time. This initiative, part of Project Dolphin, aims to enhance understanding of the dolphin's habitat and movement patterns.
The tagging took place in Kulsi, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, and was executed under the guidance of the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department. The project is funded by the National CAMPA Authority.
Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav hailed the tagging as a historic milestone. He emphasized that it will deepen knowledge regarding the conservation of this endangered species, which relies on echolocation due to its near blindness.
Approximately 90% of the global population of Ganges river dolphins is found in India, but their numbers have drastically declined over the past century. The tagging will help researchers understand their seasonal and migratory patterns, as well as their habitat utilization, especially in fragmented river systems.
Vishnupriya Kolipakam, WII's project investigator, noted that this effort is crucial not only for the dolphins but also for the thousands of people who depend on these river ecosystems. Plans to extend the tagging initiative to other states are already in the works, aiming for a comprehensive understanding of the species' population dynamics.