{"id":147678,"date":"2024-12-19T19:43:05","date_gmt":"2024-12-19T14:13:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/?post_type=current-affairs&#038;p=147678"},"modified":"2024-12-19T19:43:05","modified_gmt":"2024-12-19T14:13:05","slug":"ganges-river-dolphin","status":"publish","type":"current-affairs","link":"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/current-affairs\/ganges-river-dolphin","title":{"rendered":"Ganges River Dolphin"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently the first-ever <\/span><b>Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> was tagged in Assam, marking a historic milestone in wildlife conservation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-147653 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/195-6764163ec9ece.webp\" alt=\"Ganges River Dolphin \" width=\"269\" height=\"420\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/195-6764163ec9ece.webp 498w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/195-6764163ec9ece-192x300.webp 192w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 269px) 100vw, 269px\" \/><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Key Highlights of the Initiative<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The initiative, under the<\/span><b> Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, was implemented by the <\/span><b>Wildlife Institute of India (WII)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and Aaranyak,<\/span><b> funded by <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">the <\/span><b>National CAMPA Authority.<\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the first tagging for the species in India and globally, representing a significant step forward for <\/span><b>Project Dolphin of MoEFCC\u00a0 started in 2021<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>About Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica)<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ganges River Dolphin,<\/span><b> India&#8217;s National Aquatic Animal since 2009,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unique in its ecology.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is also designated as the<\/span><b> State Aquatic Animal of Assam<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is commonly known as<\/span><b> &#8220;Susu&#8221;<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> because of the sound it emits while surfacing to breathe.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Ganges river dolphin is known as the <\/span><b>\u201cTiger of the Ganges<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d for the role it plays as a<\/span><b> top predator, and <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">because it is <\/span><b>an ecosystem indicator species<\/b><\/li>\n<li><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-147656 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/196-6764163ce84bc.webp\" alt=\"Ganges River Dolphin \" width=\"453\" height=\"289\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/196-6764163ce84bc.webp 935w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/196-6764163ce84bc-300x192.webp 300w, https:\/\/pwonlyias.com\/stage\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/196-6764163ce84bc-768x490.webp 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 453px) 100vw, 453px\" \/><b>Habitat and Adaptations<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can only survive in<\/span><b> freshwater environments.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Being a mammal, it<\/span><b> cannot breathe underwater<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and surfaces for only<\/span><b> 5\u201330 seconds at a time.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>They are <\/b><b>nearly blind <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and rely on<\/span><b> echolocation<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for their<\/span><b> biological needs<\/b><b> , <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">emitting ultrasonic sounds to hunt, which bounce off prey, creating a mental image for <\/span><b>navigation and feeding.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Distribution<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around 90% of the population resides in India.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Historically distributed across the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli river systems.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Physical Features<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Features include a long, thin snout, a rounded belly, a stocky body, and large flippers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It has a blowhole-like slit on top of its head, functioning as a nostril.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Females are larger than males and give<\/span><b> birth to one calf every two to three years<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> with a <\/span><b>gestation period of about 10 months.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Protection Status<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><b>Endangered<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: <\/span><b>Schedule I.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES):<\/b> <b>Appendix I.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><b>Convention on Migratory Species (CMS):<\/b> <b>Appendix I.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Conservation Effort:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India&#8217;s first<\/span><b> National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC)\u00a0 <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is in <\/span><b>Patna, Bihar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with the objective of conserving the endangered Gangetic River dolphin.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is located in<\/span><b> Bhagalpur District of Bihar<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, India.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"3\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sanctuary is a 60 kilometers stretch of the <\/span><b>Ganges River.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span class=\"vc_button\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pw.live\/batches\/upsc\/pw-only-ias?utm_source=seo+upsc+batch&#038;utm_medium=seo+upsc&#038;utm_campaign=seo&#038;utm_id=upsc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-size: 18pt;\"><b>Types of River Dolphins<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.7992%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 17.1687%; text-align: center;\"><b>River Dolphin Species<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.2329%; text-align: center;\"><b>Distribution<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.1285%; text-align: center;\"><b>Key Features<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.7654%; text-align: center;\"><b>Conservation Status<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 17.1687%;\"><b>Ganges River Dolphin<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.2329%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ganges River and its tributaries in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.1285%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Long, slender beak; blind; echolocation-dependent; pink or gray in color<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.7654%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Endangered<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 17.1687%;\"><b>Indus River Dolphin<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.2329%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Indus River in Pakistan<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.1285%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similar to Ganges River Dolphin but smaller; adapted to murky river waters<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.7654%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Endangered<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 17.1687%;\"><b>Amazon River Dolphin (Boto)<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.2329%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amazon and Orinoco River basins in South America<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.1285%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pink or gray in color; long, flexible neck; can breathe through blowhole or nostrils<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.7654%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vulnerable<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 17.1687%;\"><b>Irrawaddy Dolphin<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.2329%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Irrawaddy River and coastal waters of Southeast Asia. Also found in Chilika lake, Odisha.<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.1285%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Stocky body; short, blunt beak; gray in color<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.7654%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Endangered<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 17.1687%;\"><b>Tucuxi<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.2329%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amazon and Orinoco River basins in South America<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.1285%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Small, gray dolphin with a prominent beak; active and playful<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.7654%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Data Deficient<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 17.1687%;\"><b>Baiji (Yangtze River Dolphin)<\/b><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 33.2329%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yangtze River in China<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 32.1285%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unique, white-colored dolphin with a long, slender beak<\/span><\/td>\n<td style=\"width: 16.7654%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extinct<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><\/div>\n<div class=\"vc_table_green\"><\/p>\n<table style=\"width: 99.6375%;\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"width: 111.19%; 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