National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC)

• India’s first centre for research on conserving the endangered Gangetic river dolphin, National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC), is now operational and aims to assist scientists and researchers in studying Gangetic dolphins comprehensively.
• The NDRC, spanning a 4,400 square metre plot on the premises of Patna University near the Ganga, offers a strategic location for researchers to closely observe dolphins in their natural habitat.

About Gangetic Dolphin

• The Gangetic river dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal.
• The Gangetic river dolphin is one of four freshwater dolphin species in the world.
  • The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China (now extinct), the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.
• The dolphin is found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
• It is blind and finds its way and prey in river waters through echolocation.
• Bihar is home to around half of the estimated 3,000 Gangetic dolphins in India.
• Dolphins prefer water that is at least five to eight feet deep.
• They are usually found in turbulent waters, where there are enough fish for them to feed on.
• Gangetic dolphins live in a zone where there is little or no current, helping them save energy.
• If they sense danger, they can dive into deep waters.
• The dolphins swim from the no-current zone to the edges to hunt for fish and return.
• Protection status
  • It is a Schedule I animal under the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
  • It has been declared an ‘endangered’ species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and added in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).