Two stranded adult female Indus River dolphins were rescued from the Kirthar Canal near City Point, Sukkur, by a joint team of the Sindh Wildlife Department and World Wide Fund – Pakistan (WWF-P) with help from local community members. The dolphins – one of which was 7.6 feet long and weighed 110 kilograms and the other was 7.2 feet long and weighed around 102 kilograms – were then safely released in the Indus River. Indus dolphins that moved to the Kirthar Canal in September 2017 were being continuously monitored by the Sindh Wildlife Department and WWF-Pakistan to ensure their timely rescue in case they were stranded in shallow water bodies adjacent to the canal. The rescue team carefully translocated the dolphins in a soundproof ambulance to release them in the main Indus River near Sukkur Barrage upstream. Stranding in low waters is a constant threat faced by the Indus River dolphin and usually occurs during the period of canal closures, when floodgates are closed and water levels drop. Intensive fishing in the core dolphin habitat is another threat which increases the probability of dolphins being entangled in fishing nets, making continuous monitoring imperative. The Indus River dolphin (platanista gangetica minor) is an endangered freshwater cetacean and is only found in the Indus River in Pakistan. It is a WWF priority species and their 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. Rab Nawaz, senior director of programmes for WWF-P, appreciated the wildlife department and community’s role in the successful rescue. In a statement, he said WWF-P firmly believes in engaging local communities for conservation of endangered species such as the Indus River dolphin. The Indus dolphin rescue programme, the statement added, remains an integral component of WWF-P’s conservation work and the conservation body has been organising capacity building workshops and training sessions for Sindh Wildlife Department officials on the safe rescue and release of stranded Indus River dolphins. WWF-P also operates a 24-hour helpline, 071 561 5505, which has proved instrumental in further strengthening the existing dolphin rescue programme.
