WWF-SWD team rescues stranded Indus River Dolphin

Karachi 

WWF-Pakistan, in collaboration with the Sindh Wildlife Department and local fishing community, successfully rescued a stranded  Indus river dolphin on Thursday from the Salar Tributary of Kirthar Canal, located 170 km from Sukkur. 

The trained rescue team led by Imran Malik, Project Coordinator, WWF-Pakistan and Mir Akhtar Hussain Talpur, In-charge Indus Dolphin Centre, Sindh Wildlife Department immediately arrived at the site after the dolphin was spotted in shallow water. Later, it was carefully transported in a sound proof vehicle (and constantly kept moist) until its successful release in the Indus River at Sukkur Barrage upstream. 

A statement released on Thursday said it was a three feet, five inch long male dolphin that weighted 16.5kg. WWF-Pakistan together with the Sindh Wildlife Department had been monitoring the dolphin since June 1 to ensure its timely rescue in case of stranding. This was one of two dolphins which moved from the main river to small tributaries originating from Kirthar Canal; the other one was a female rescued last month. 

 Stranding in low waters is a constant threat that this endangered species faces, which usually occurs during the period of canal closures when flood gates are closed resulting in a drop in water level. Furthermore, intensive fishing in the core dolphin habitat is another threat which increases the probability of dolphins getting entangled in fishing nets, making it critical to continuously monitor the Indus River and adjacent canals. 

The Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor), an endangered  freshwater cetacean, is a WWF priority species. Pakistan is home to approximately 1,452 Indus river dolphins, distributed between Chashma and Kotri barrages. The Indus river dolphin population is highly fragmented due to the construction of water regulatory barrages with the largest population concentrated between Guddu and Sukkur barrages, a legally protected area known as the Indus Dolphin Game Reserve.

WWF-Pakistan has initiated numerous programmes to support and protect the population of these dolphins in collaboration with partners and has rescued more than 120 dolphins since 1992. Community awareness and education has also helped substantially decrease stranding-induced dolphin mortalities in recent years. According to Rab Nawaz, Senior Director Programmes, WWF-Pakistan, “the successful rescue of the dolphin is an outcome of the dedicated efforts of our team and the Sindh Wildlife Department who have been continuously monitoring this dolphin for last two months.