Ganges River Dolphin Tagging

Current Context : India conducted its first-ever satellite tagging of a Ganges River Dolphin in Assam.

Tagging involves attaching a device, marker, or tag to an animal for identification or tracking.

Aim : to study dolphins’ migratory patterns, habitat utilization, and distribution.

Implemented by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and NGO Aaranyak.

About Project Dolphin:

• Launched in 2020by MoEFCC to conserve Ganges River Dolphins and their ecosystems.
• Modeled after Project Tiger.

About Ganges River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica):

• India’s National Aquatic Animal and an Endangered species (IUCN).
• Habitat: Freshwater systems like the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems in India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
• India hosts 90% of the global population.

Features:

• Blind: Relies on echolocation for navigation and hunting.
• Known as the “Tiger of the Ganges”, an umbrella species for riverine ecosystems.
• Locally called ‘Susu’due to its breathing sound.