The Goddess Ganga came
down to Earth from the skies. The dolphin
was amongst the creatures that heralded the
descent of the holy river towards the people
– Hindu mythology
15/03/2005 - The river dolphins of India’s
sacred Ganges River have been written into
Hindu religious tracts dating back thousands
of years. So revered, the Ganges River dolphin
was one of the world’s first protected species,
given special status under the reign of Emperor
Ashoka, one of India’s most famous rulers
in the third century BC.
Today, the Ganges River dolphin (Platanista
gangetica) is protected once again under the
Indian Wildlife Protection Act (and internationally
under the Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora,
and the Convention on Migratory Species).
But, like other river dolphin species around
the world, it continues to remain under threat
from pollution, fishing and irresponsible
river basin management.
In one stretch of the Ganges, however, all
is not lost as the number of river dolphins
has nearly doubled from 22 to 42 over the
past decade.
This success story is due in no small part
to the contagious enthusiasm of Dr Sandeep
Behera, WWF-India’s Freshwater Programme Coordinator.
Known as the “Dolphin Man” by local villagers
and colleagues, Sandeep has worked tirelessly
for the past 13 years along the Ganges in
an effort to save this endangered species.
In particular, his work has focused on a 164km
stretch of river from Bijnor to Narora, about
200km south-east of the capital, New Delhi,
reachable only by travelling along some of
the country’s most bone-crunching and bumpiest
roads.
“I first saw a river dolphin some fourteen
years ago,” said Sandeep, who was involved
at the time on another research project in
the Upper Ganges. “When I first saw one I
thought it was the most beautiful of animals,
jumping up and out from the river. It was
breathtaking.”
Swimming blindly
Taking to the Ganges’ murky waters — with
Sandeep as a guide — sightings of these illusive
creatures are not as rare as one first expects.
Meandering around the many sandbanks that
fill this stretch of river one soon gets a
glimpse of these silvery-grey dolphins, with
their trademark long narrow beaks, arching
their way through the mud-coloured waters.
Surfacing every three minutes or so for air,
these freshwater dolphins appear for just
a few seconds, but their brief impact is magical.
Local people call the dolphins susu, a name
that mimics the noise they make when surfacing
for air. Cutting the engines of the boat,
it’s not long before a female dolphin breaks
the surface just metres away — close enough
that the distinct susu noise is distinctly
heard.
The Ganges River dolphin can grow as large
as 2.7m in length and weighs up to 90kg. In
addition to the uniqueness of their long beaks,
these dolphins are blind, having adapted to
the silt-filled waters of the Ganges where
underwater vision is practically useless.
Instead, they navigate and hunt for small
fish with a highly developed echolocation
system — an innate system that enables them
to locate and discriminate objects by reflecting
sound. Unfortunately, their blindness occasionally
leads to tragic consequences as they easily
get entangled in fishing nets, an increasing
threat to the dolphin’s survival.
“The worst threat is pollution, the second
is fishing activity and the third is habitat
degradation,” explained Sandeep. “In this
particular stretch, however, we have overcome
the threat of fishing activity as the local
government has banned commercial fishing and
sand-mining activities along the banks.”
Before Sandeep started his work there were
no proper scientific records on the number
of river dolphins in the Ganges. Today, he
can report that there are 42 dolphins living
along the particular stretch of river he works
on, up from just 22 in the early 11000s. As
for the rest the entire Ganges and Brahmaputra
river systems in India, there are estimates
of 1,500 to 1,800 dolphins left. Over the
past 13 years Sandeep has surveyed just about
every part of the Ganges, flagging the dolphin’s
threats along the way.
“I think I became so involved with these
creatures because no one else was looking
after them,” he said. “Now we realize that
like canaries sent down mines to warn of toxic
gases the dolphins in our rivers can also
warn of polluted water.”
The Ganges drainage area is one of the most
densely populated areas in the world, being
home to roughly one tenth of the world’s human
population, and as such suffers enormous demand
for its resources. A major threat to the Ganges
river dolphin has been the extensive damming
of rivers for irrigation and electricity generation,
which isolates populations and prevents seasonal
migration. Other threats include chemical
pollution, boat traffic, hunting and human
disturbance. This species has also been hunted
at times for oil, fish bait and food by local
people.
Life along the river
As our low-lying boat makes its way gently
down stream one can’t help but be impressed
by the wealth of wildlife in this stretch
of the Ganges. There are over a hundred species
of waterfowl on the islands and the grassy
areas that lie along the banks of the river,
as well as 11 species of turtle and two species
of crocodile. One also finds antelope and
deer.
From Bijnor to Narora one can also see that
the local people are doing well. Roads and
houses have been built and sewage treated.
Oversized billboards urging villagers to protect
the environment by not using soap or detergent
when washing in the river, and to make every
effort possible to conserve water and wildlife,
are evidence that residents along the shoreline
are taking a keen interest in looking after
their own environment.
Sandeep’s co-enthusiast, Parikshit Gautam,
head of WWF-India’s Freshwater and Wetlands
Programme, was keen to point out that normally
one only finds these species where the water
is clean. Looking towards the village of Farida,
which nestles on the banks of the Ganges at
the northern boundary of the designated area
where WWF is working, he underlined how much
is being done with these communities to reinforce
the link between a healthy environment for
dolphins and humans alike.
“These villages directly contribute to the
conservation of the river dolphin, which leads
to the overall conservation of this particular
river system,” explained Gautam. “The people
here are no longer using polluting fertilizers,
but are instead using more natural fertilizers
like cow manure. They are also upgrading their
sanitation facilities with the help of government
grants.”
At first, the locals were not so supportive
of WWF’s efforts, fearing that environmentalists
would destroy their livelihoods. But Sandeep’s
charm and persistence soon made it clear that
a healthy environment for the river dolphins
wouldn’t threaten the local economy.
“These people were worried about their economic
interests,” added Sandeep. “In the beginning
there was a lot of opposition to what I was
doing, nowadays about 90 per cent are with
me and about 10 per cent are still to be convinced.”
Sitting next to Sandeep is one of his former
opponents, Radhey Shyam, a local strongman-turned-conservationist.
He first approached Sandeep a number of years
ago, threatening him for trying to stop some
fishing activities along the river that were
deemed unsustainable. Now, he keeps a watchful
eye for poachers and takes great pride in
reciting to visitors the scientific names
of various bird and fish species one finds
here.
Tourism is of course an option for increasing
local incomes and heightening awareness of
the river dolphin’s precarious situation.
With that in mind, Sandeep looks forward to
bringing small numbers of eco-friendly tourists
to the Ganges for a day of dolphin spotting.
“There aren’t many hotels in Narora,” Sandeep
added. “But the last thing the dolphins need
is large-scale tourism. We are trying to ensure
that this area will not become over-developed,
but at the same time would like people to
have the opportunity to observe such a unique
creature.”
Sailing down the Ganges
Sailing downstream to Narora, Sandeep and
Radhey bring their in-depth knowledge of the
river to the fore as they easily locate the
deep water pools where the river dolphins
like to hunt and swim. Each time a dolphin
is sited the boat erupts with hollers of delight.
Over the next few hours there were at least
a dozen sightings, including several calves
who surfaced more regularly than their elders.
The whole experience of gently gliding along
the Ganges and glimpsing these magnificent
animals is truly enchanting. Drifting past
a number of Hindu temples the religious significance
of this river adds to the mysterious otherworldliness
of the voyage.
“Along this stretch of the river we have
worked closely with religious leaders who
in turn work with us as a partner to motivate
the local people, reinforcing the holy nature
of the Ganges in our religion,” explained
Sandeep. “The dolphins are part of this holy
nature.”
As the voyage of dolphin discovery makes
its final port of call, the twinkling lights
of Narora is framed against a dam that dissects
the Ganges from one bank to the other to divert
water for irrigation and a power plant. This
marks the end of the dolphin’s habitat, with
the barrage effectively blocking these mariners
of the river from moving further downstream.
Even if they could negotiate the concrete
dam the water levels on the other side are
so low outside of the wet season that the
habitat there would be unsuitable for their
survival.
“We may be doing better with dolphin numbers
along this particular stretch of the Ganges,
but after Narora there are no dolphins downstream
for 300km because it’s so polluted,” Sandeep
said.
The dam, no doubt, represents the border
between a Ganges that is coming back to life
and a river that is slowly dying through pollution,
overfishing and poor management of this precious
resource.
One wonders about the simple beauty of the
day that has unfolded, with every glimpse
of these divine creatures gliding through
the water a treasured memory. Add to the experience
the renewal of the environment that goes hand-in-hand
with their survival and what you’re left with
at the end echoes the words of Sandeep the
Dolphin Man: “If we can save the dolphin we
can save the river, not just for conservationists
but for everyone who needs it.”
*Brian Thomson is a Press Officer at WWF
International
End Notes:
• The Ganges River dolphin inhabits the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna
and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of India,
Nepal and Bangladesh. This vast area has been
altered by the construction of more than 50
dams and other irrigation-related projects,
with dire consequences for the river dolphins.
Alterations to the river due to barrages are
also separating populations. A recent survey
conducted by WWF-India and its partners in
the entire distribution range in the Ganges
and Brahmaputra river system, which is around
6,000km long, identified less than 2,000 individuals
in India.
• The Ganges River dolphin is among the four
“obligate” freshwater dolphins found in the
world. The other three are the baiji found
in the Yangtze River in China, the bhulan
of the Indus River in Pakistan, and the boto
of the Amazon River in Latin America. Although
there are several species of marine dolphins
whose ranges include some freshwater habitats,
these four species live only in rivers and
lakes.
• In 1997, WWF-India developed a plan of
action for the conservation of the Ganges
River dolphin. WWF’s objective for freshwater
cetaceans is to ensure that habitat degradation
and fisheries bycatch do not threaten any
species of freshwater cetacean. Specifically
for the Ganges River dolphin, WWF aims to
reduce or eliminate the threats caused by
fisheries bycatch and habitat degradation
by 2012.
