Faltering (2,000) Ganges Dolphins Pounded By Pesticides, Sewage, Contaminants In Remaining Range

[hatrack]

Patna, March 31 (IANS) River pollution due to extensive use of pesticides is dangerous for the critically endangered Ganges river dolphin, India’s national aquatic animal, says an expert. There are only about 2,000 left, down from tens of thousands just a few decades ago. About half of these are in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

R.K. Sinha, an expert on Ganges river dolphins, told IANS here that heavy use of pesticides in agricultural fields is dangerous for the existence of dolphins because of low metabolism capacity in their bodies. According to Sinha, who has been researching freshwater dolphins for over two decades, rivers are major repositories of pesticides. “The toxins of pesticides enter the river system through agricultural run-off, domestic sewage and industrial effluents,” he said.

He said since dolphins are at the apex of the food chain in rivers, their condition would help assess whether the steps taken to clean the Ganges were working. “If the number of dolphins increases in the river, it will be a positive sign of a clean Ganges but if the number decreases, it is a negative sign of increasing pollution,” he said.

Sinha, a professor of zoology at Patna University, asserted that immersion of idols in rivers also poses a grave threat to aquatic life. He suggested that “manmade water bodies” be used for immersing idols. “The Ganges is already highly polluted and its ecosystem is under pressure. Untreated sewage, rotting carcasses and industrial effluents that find their way into the Ganges during its 2,500-km-long journey from the Himalayas to the Bay of Bengal have also affected the dolphins,” he said. Experts estimate the current population of Ganges river dolphins at around 2,000. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says that in the 1980s, there were around 3,500 in the delta region alone.

EDIT

http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/enviornment/pesticides-poisoning-ganges-river-dolphins_100341541.html

[tom_paine]

1. If those dolphins were serious they'd start evolving

until that brew of chemicals was nectar to them!

:sarcasm: