The indian River Dolphin

 RIVER DOLPHIN

(The national aquatic animal of india)

Description:

Indian river Dolphin is the most rare aquatic animal.The river dolphins are found in the rivers Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. It is commonly known as "Susu" in Ganges and "Hihu" in Brahmaputra. 

indian river dolphin are blind.

This mammal is also said to represent the purity of the holy Ganga as it can only survive in pure and fresh water. Platanista gangetica has a long pointed snout and also have visible teeth in both the upper and lower jaws. 

They were found in large numbers before a few years. But now their number has come down considerably due to various human activities like fishing (gillnetting), poaching, damming (Farakka barrage) in Ganges and other dams, sand mining (in Kulsi river of Assam) and deforestation.

Physical appearence:

The Ganges river dolphins ("Susu" or "Hihu") grow to a maximum length of 2.6 m (8 ft.), weighing about 100 kg. They have elongated beak with about 28 sharp curved teeth on each side of upper and lower jaws

The dorsal fin is short but the caudal fluke is well developed. As they are mammals they breath air with lungs and come to the surface for breathing. They have to surface at least once in 30-50 seconds. They give birth to a calf of length of about 65 cm after a gestation period of about 9 months. They feed their young ones with milk from the mammary glands located near its anus. The river dolphins feed on small fishes and prawns. They mature at an age of 6-7 years and may live for about 35 years. Because of their poor eye sight they cannot be trained as in the case of marine dolphins. Further they do not live for long in captivity. Hence they cannot be kept for shows in dolphinariums.

Reproduction:

The Ganges River Dolphin will only have one calf at a time. Typically, the Ganges River Dolphin will mature at an older age, with females not becoming ready to breed until they are at an average of six to ten years old.The Ganges River Dolphin will breed in a similar way to other dolphins, which includes breeding during the beginning of the year, and remaining pregnant for an average of 10 – 12 months.

Conservation: 

 There are various conservation works going on the Sanctuary Areas to protect the National Aquatic Animal of India. Vikramshila Gangeticdolphin sanctuary is the only the only protected area for the endangered Gangetic dolphins in Asia. It is located in Bhagalpur District of Bihar, India. Only a few hundred dolphins remain in India, of which half are found here. WWF-India and Aaranyak a NGO has been working closely with various government departments to protect these blind river Dolphins of India.