The carcass of a dolphin was discovered on the banks of the Ganga in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj district, forest officials confirmed on Friday.
Sahibganj Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Prabal Garg said the department acted immediately after receiving information from local fishermen. “We have sent the carcass of the dolphin, scientifically known as Platanista Gangetica, to the nearest range office in Taljhari for post-mortem examination. The mammal is listed under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, making it an endangered species,” he said.
Officials stated that no external injury marks were found on the dolphin’s carcass. This ruled out the possibility of death caused by ships or trawlers. Garg also dismissed water pollution as a cause. “There are no external marks on the dolphin’s carcass, which rules out injury caused by movement of ships or trawlers. There is little chance of water pollution, as in that condition, there would have been multiple deaths of dolphins,” he explained.
Sahibganj Home to Over 250 Dolphins
According to the pre-monsoon survey conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) under Project Dolphin in Sahibganj, the number of Ganga river dolphins in the district was recorded at over 250.
