Ganges Dolphin

Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is an endangered species of freshwater aquatic mammal once common in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Essentially blind, they hunt their prey in a unique manner by emitting ultrasonic sounds.

Once numbered in the tens of thousands, the Ganga Dolphin population has dwindled rapidly to under 2000 from poaching, construction of dams and barrages, pollution of the River Ganges and over fishing.

The 'endangered' Ganges River Dolphin enjoys high levels of legal protection both nationally and internationally, being in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

A solitary mammal usually found alone or in small groups, or a mother and calf travelling together. Calves are chocolate brown at birth and then grey-brown as adults. Females give birth once every two to three years to a solitary calf.