Dead Indus dolphin spotted by people in Ghotki district

They took its pictures and released the body back into Narli Minor

KARACHI: A dead Indus dolphin was spotted by people in Ghotki district on Friday morning, informed World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Sukkur project officer Malik Imran.

Children from Gono Khan Shar village, in Daharki taluka of Ghotki, were swimming in Narli Minor water channel when they spotted something floating in the water, he said. When it approached them they realised it was dead dolphin. The children called their elders to the location and took it out of water. They took "photos and selfies along with the dead dolphin" and released it back after an hour or so, he added.

Earlier, there were news reports that the dolphin was killed by the villagers as they mistook it for a 'dangerous' animal. However, Imran claimed it to be incorrect.

According to Imran, the body of the dolphin has yet to be found again and a team has been deployed to search for it.



Speaking about the cause of dolphin's death, Imran speculated that maybe it got stuck in one of the fishing nets. The dolphin may have slipped from the Guddu Barrage into Ghotki Feeder, landing in Narli Minor and it got stuck in fishing net, he added.

The dolphin is said to be two-and-half-feet long, said wildlife department Sukkur division deputy conservator Taj Muhammad Shaikh. He reiterated that a team is searching for the dead dolphin after which the cause of death will be ascertained.

According to the villagers, the body was a day or two old when they spotted it floating in Narli Minor and it was decomposing as there was a stench said Shafqat Hussain Shah, who is heading the 11-member search team. He added "It is very difficult to spot the body again as the water course is more than 100 kilometres long."

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2016.