Two stranded dolphins rescued, released into Indus River

A joint rescue team of the WWF-Pakistan (WWF-P) and Sindh Wildlife Department successfully rescued two stranded dolphins and released them back into the Indus River two days in a row.

A 3.1-feet-long male dolphin weighing around 22 kilograms was rescued from Dahar, a tributary of the Ghotki Feeder Canal, 170 kilometres from Sukkur, on Friday.

Another male dolphin, which was 4.7-feet-long and weighed 37kg, was rescued from Wareha, a minor tributary of the Rice Canal on Saturday.

The rescued dolphins were carefully transported in a soundproof ambulance modified for this purpose. One of the rescued aquatic mammals was released in the Indus River at the Sukkur Barrage upstream and the second at downstream.

Cetacean stranding in low waters is a constant threat that this endangered species faces. Stranding usually occurs during the period of canal closures when the floodgates are closed, dropping the level of water.

Furthermore, intensive fishing in the core dolphin habitat is another threat that increases the probability of dolphins getting entangled in fishing nets, making it critical to continuously monitor the Indus River and the adjacent canals.

The Indus River dolphin rescue programme, therefore, has been an integral component of the WWF-P’s conservation work on this species and is a continuous activity being carried out in collaboration with the provincial wildlife department.

The WWF-P recently organised a capacity building workshop for wildlife department officials on the safe rescue and release of stranded Indus River dolphins.

The NGO has initiated numerous programmes to support and protect the population of these dolphins in collaboration with partners, and has rescued more than 130 dolphins since 1992.

Community awareness and education has also helped substantially decrease stranding-induced dolphin mortalities in recent years.

The organisation set up the 24-hour phone helpline, 071 561 5505 which has been instrumental in further strengthening the existing dolphin rescue program.

The Indus River dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor) is an endangered freshwater cetacean and is only found in the Indus River in Pakistan. It is also a WWF priority species. Pakistan is home to approximately 1,452 Indus River dolphins, distributed between the Chashma and Kotri barrages.

The dolphin’s population is highly fragmented due to the construction of water regulatory barrages, with the largest population concentrated between the Guddu and Sukkur barrages, a legally protected area known as the Indus Dolphin Game Reserve.