Punjab Government has declared the Indus river dolphin as Punjab’s state aquatic animal.
About:
Scientific Name: Platanista minor.
Habitat: Indus river dolphins are one of only four river dolphin species and subspecies in the world that spend all of their lives in freshwater.
Distribution: The Indus river dolphin is the second most endangered freshwater river dolphin. At present, there are only around 1,800 of these in the Indus in Pakistan. Their population in the Beas River is between eight to 10.
IUCN status: Endangered.
Threats:
The main threat is the construction of numerous dams and barrages that split the population into small groups, degraded their habitat and impeded migration.
Other reasons are Poaching, entanglement in Fishnets and river pollution.
Characteristics:
Indus Dolphins are brown/grey in colour.
They are functionally blind and rely on echolocation to navigate, communicate and hunt prey including prawns, catfish and carp.
They live for at least for 30 years and grow over 2 metres in length.
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