Experts confirm rare Dolphins in Punjab wetland
21 December, 2007
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Experts confirm rare Dolphins in Punjab wetland
Dec 21:
By Jaideep Sarin, Amritsar
The presence of rare freshwater dolphins in the Harike wetland and wildlife sanctuary in Ferozepur district in Punjab was confirmed by the wildlife experts Friday, bringing cheer to wildlife experts.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) experts, Sanjay Behera and marine life expert Ashgar Nawab, finally spotted a pair of the freshwater dolphins (Platanista minor) in the wetland, which is nearly 80 km wide at the confluence of Sutlej and Beas rivers, Friday evening after spending hours trying to locate them over the last two days.
Wildlife officials said the WWF experts spotted a pair of fully-grown dolphins and three smaller dolphins, believed to be their siblings.
"We saw the dolphins swimming around in the interior part of the wetland. It was an amazing sight to see them come up from the water and go back again. It is a rare sight," Behera said.
"There were plenty of evidences provided to us over the last two days by forest and wildlife officials and locals around the wetland to put in so many hours and surf for these unique creatures."
Earlier in the month, sanctuary staff and locals living in villages around the wetland first reported the dolphins.
The dolphins were filmed by Punjab's Divisional Forest Officer Basanta Kumar Dec 14 following which experts and scientists from WWF and the Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India were asked to come and observe the creatures.
"The confirmation of their presence is great news. Now nature lovers and tourists should flock to this sanctuary to see these unique creatures," WWF's Punjab in-charge Gunbir Singh said.
The freshwater dolphins are said to be rare creatures, which are found in the Indus river basin in Pakistan.
The origin of these dolphins is linked to the Tethys Sea that existed between Indian subcontinent and Asia over 50 million years ago. When the sea dried up, these creatures took refuge mainly in the Indus river basin.
Though wildlife experts say that it is too early to predict how the dolphins came to this wetland, it is being assumed that they swam upstream from rivers in Pakistan. The WWF and other wildlife experts will study the dolphins over the next few days to know how they reached here.
While the WWF experts will remain here to study the dolphins, more wildlife scientists are expected to join next week to suggest measures for conservation and help in breeding of the dolphins.
"We are all quite concerned about the protection of the dolphins. We must take proper care of them," Behera said.
These freshwater dolphins number only about 1,000 and are known to exist in a handful of rivers across the globe.
(IANS)
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