NEWSLINKS
US EDITION
COLUMNISTS
DIARY
SPECIALS
INTERVIEWS
CAPITAL BUZZ
REDIFF POLL
DEAR REDIFF
THE STATES
YEH HAI INDIA!
ELECTION 99
ELECTIONS
ARCHIVES

Search Rediff

Conservation plan for Chilka's dolphins

M I Khan in Bhubaneswar

There is good news for nature lovers and environmentalists, from Orissa. The Chilka Development Authority is planning to start a conservation project for rare and endangered dolphins in the country's largest brackish water lake.

The dolphins in Chilka lake have been killed in large numbers year after year. However, unlike in the case of the Olive Ridley turtles, there was hardly any move to save them. The CDA plans to change all that.

These dolphins, originally found only in the Irrawady river in Burma, figure in the endangered species list. There are about 240 of them living in different locations in the lake, according to a report of the forest and wildlife division of Chilka.

The expanding prawn culture and use of mechanised boats by fishermen are threatening their existence. "Recently, over a dozen dolphins, mostly babies, died of suffocation after getting caught in fishermen's nets," experts revealed.

The CDA approached the International Union for Conservation of Nature for guidance and also submitted a detailed project proposal to the Global Environment Fund for a long-term study of the behaviour and life of the mammals in the lake.

No such study has been done in the recent past, the last one was done by British scientist way back in 1915. These dolphins which are active in both sea and lake water, grow up to a length of six feet and are heavier than fresh water dolphins.

The CDA has made a special request to Dr Rabindra Kumar Sinha, a known expert on dolphins, to assist in the conservation project. Dr Sinha, in his preliminary survey, tried to study their living habits, diseases they are vulnerable to and cause of the their death.

He has requested the CDA to take tissue samples from the dead dolphins for DNA tests to ascertain their lineage and find out if there is a sister species anywhere on the globe. Besides giving them additional information about these animals, it would also help plan effective conservation measures.

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report