river dolphin
The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) have released a report that highlight the threats to river dolphins across the world. Freshwater dolphin numbers across the world are continuing to decline for a number of reasons associated with the way human activities affect some of the worlds greatest rivers. The Amazon, Ganges, Indus and Yangtze all have dwindling numbers of dolphins. “The well-being of river dolphins is a telltale indicator of river health, and their decline should sound an alarm bell for everyone – our rivers are at risk, and we need to clean up our act to stop this nosedive,” says Dr. Li Lifeng, Director of WWF’s Freshwater Programme.
There are four species of river dolphins, three are true freshwater dolphin species; Ganges and Indus dolphins (separated into 2 sub species), Amazon river dolphin- separated into 3 sub species – and the Chinese river dolphin. The fourth species – La Planta – lives in brackish waters of estuaries and bays but are not true oceanic dolphins and are classed as a river dolphin.
River dolphins are distinguishable from marine dolphins mainly from the length of their snouts which can be up to 4 times longer than an ocean dolphin. River dolphins also have very poor eyesight and rely much more on their sonar to navigate through muddy river waters.
All river dolphins are endangered to differing amounts but the Chinese river dolphins is recognised as being critically endangered with reports of wild dolphins now being extremely rare. The last confirmed and documented sighting was in 2004 and many now consider it to be functionally extinct in the wild.
The reports highlights the impact of over fishing, toxic run off and agricultural run off on freshwater environments. As populations along these great river valleys continue to grow so the risks to the river dolphin will also grow due to pollution and overfishing. The reports highlights the need for management of river basins for the benefit of both wildlife and people.
Natural disasters can also threaten river dolphins. At the moment the floods in Pakistan are impacting on the Indus river dolphin. In previous floods the dolphins were trapped and died in drainage and agricultural ditches. It’s not know how big an impact the current flood will have on the survival of the species. In another case involving floods, fishermen have recently rescued 12 pink river dolphins in Bolivia. the dolphins became trapped in a smaller river when floodwater waters receded and with the dry season approaching the dolphins would not have survived as river levels dropped.
The Ganges river dolphin is at risk from a number of problems. India’s only river dolphin sanctuary, the Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in Bihar, has recieved no central funding since 2004 and this is impacting on conservation projects. Industrial developments also threaten the Ganges dolphin, the latest being the proposal for a distillery at Ramur which will discharge effluents that could threaten the Kulsi River population of dolphins.
River dolphins in Asia are under greatest threats and need the most conservation work in order to ensure their survival. It would be a great shame if the Ganges and Indus dolphins went the same way as the Chinese river dolphin. Fortunately the future looks more promising for the river dolphins of South America, it appears that numbers there are much larger than in Asia and conservation measures can be put in place before numbers drop to dangerous levels.
photo credit: Zemlinki!
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