KARACHI, Nov 12: One of the two male Indus dolphins which had strayed into the canals near Sukkur Barrage last month died during the rescue operation carried out by the Sindh Wildlife Department personnel, it has been learnt here reliably.
One of the two dolphins, weighing over 85 kilograms, was sighted in Khirthar Canal near Bagrji. An SWD team rescued the eight-foot-long dolphin, brought it back to Sukkur and released it into the river near the Satyon-jo-Asthan, Rohri.
Keeping in view the size, weight and teeth structure, the experts estimated its age around 30 years.
The other dolphin, weighing around 10 kilograms, was a three-and-a-half-foot-long baby. It was sighted in a Dadu canal pool near Dokri. The wildlife department staff rescued the baby and shifted it to the vehicle for transportation to its habitat in the Indus.
However, sources said, the baby died during the 130-km journey from Dokri to Sukkur.
Preserved as a specimen for research purposes, the dolphin has been kept in the Sukkur office of the Sindh Wildlife Department.
Indus dolphins were found in the entire course of the river and its various tributaries from the delta up to the mountains in the past. But owing to some manmade barriers like dams and barrages in the river, its movement has been drastically restricted. Now, the entire dolphin population resides between Sukkur and Taunsa barrages, with the bulk living between the Sukkur and Guddu barrages.
Increased pollution in the river owing to manmade barriers seriously affected the dolphin population until the Sindh Wildlife Protection Ordinance was introduced.
Under the ordinance, the dolphin has been declared protected and the Indus River between Sukkur and Guddu barrages has been marked as a dolphin reserve. Now the growth rate in the protective environment has increased.
Responding to Dawn queries, Sindh Wildlife Department Deputy Conservator Hussain Bukhsh Bhaagat said gates of all the canals were opened every year during the monsoon season during which the dolphins strayed into the canals.
The wildlife department carried out its rescue operations during the winter season when the gates were closed, he said, adding that the practice started in 1995 with the funds and technical assistance being provided by the UNDP and the WWF.
Over 76 dolphins had been rescued and released in the Indus while 19 dolphins died either during the rescue operation or by drowning during the last 12 years, he said.
Being mammals, the dolphins have to come to the surface after a brief interval to breath. However, they fail to do so when they are caught in the fishing nets and subsequently drown.
Whenever a stranded dolphin is sighted, the rescue team of wildlife department with the assistance of local fishermen catch it and take it out of the water. It is kept on a wet mattress in an open vehicle to be transported and released into the river. To avoid direct sunlight, wet towels are put on its body. Rescuers keep pouring water on it to help maintain moisture in its skin which starts cracking if gets dry. After taking measurements and other scientific data, the dolphin is released into the river as soon as possible.
Inhabiting in the muddy water of the Indus River, the dolphins have lost their eyesight over the years and as such they have become a rare species in the world. Also called blind dolphin, scientists say, they have developed through a process of evolution a highly sensitive sound system — similar to the sonar system of the submarines — using which they navigate and catch fish for food.
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