With Beas pollution down, rare Indus river dolphins spotted

With Beas pollution down, rare Indus river dolphins venturing out.

With reduced human activities and improvement of water quality of the Beas during Covid-19 lockdown, Indus river dolphins — one of the world’s rarest mammals — are being sighted more regularly at Beas Conservation Reserve and have also started venturing out to other areas, as far as about 50km away from its hotspots in the Beas.

Two of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world are found in India. These are the Ganges and Indus river dolphins. Beas Conservation Reserve in Punjab is home to the only population of Indus river dolphins in the country.

There has been stamped improvement in the water nature of the Beas in the course of the most recent one month. A week ago, Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) directed an overview of water quality and said that the stream not, at this point fell in the dirtied classification.

Field observations by the wildlife department and ‘dolphin mitras’– a network of riparian communities trained to monitor river health by WWF-India — reveal that the Indus river dolphins were being sighted more often at the hotspots in Gharka and Karmowala villages falling in Tarn Taran district and occasionally in Harike Wildlife Sanctuary.

The teams spotted one to four dolphins per sighting. However, no calves were seen along with the adults or sub-adult dolphins. Dolphin sightings are most common between 12pm and 3pm at the hotspots.

Naming the regular spotting of dolphins as a cheering sign, Dr Kuldip Kumar, head boss conservator of woods, untamed life and boss natural life superintendent of Punjab said that notwithstanding Beas Conservation Reserve, dolphins are likewise wandering into the Harike Wildlife Sanctuary. “Natural life division groups have additionally detailed sightings of sympatric species like gharial, turtles and smooth-covered otters alongside Indus stream dolphins,” said Dr Kumar.

Buoyed by the sightings, the wildlife department has planned to conduct a detailed species assessment after lifting of Covid-19 restrictions. To ensure the safety of wildlife and to prevent illegal activities in the protected area, the department is conducting active patrolling.

Dr Gitanjali Kanwar, coordinator, WWF-India, said, “Dolphin mitras living on the banks of the Beas are acting as ears and eyes for us to understand the ground reality amidst the ongoing Covid-19 situation. WWF-India and wildlife department trained and formed a network of friends of Beas in 30 villages around Beas Conservation Reserve starting from 2018.”

Credit:TimesofIndia

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