7th blind Indus dolphin washes ashore this year

The dolphin was caught in the gates of Guddu Barrage.

SUKKUR:

The body of another blind Indus dolphin washed ashore the Indus River near Ali Warn on Wednesday, bringing the total number of deaths to seven since January.

Sukkur wildlife department deputy conservator Taj Mohammad Shaikh told The Express Tribune that the dolphin died at Guddu Barrage but its body washed away downstream towards Sukkur.

According to Shaikh, the mammal is a 15-year-old male dolphin that weighs around 62 kilogrammes and is five feet and six inches long.

The dolphin’s body is decomposed but there are visible wounds around its head and other parts of the body, he said. Shaikh estimated that the dolphin died at least three days ago, after it was caught in the gates of the barrage. The dolphin was buried after a post-mortem, he added.

A total of six blind Indus dolphins have been found dead in the Indus River since the beginning of the year. Experts believed that the mammals are dying from poisonous chemicals, which are dissolved in the river for fishing. Others have claimed that the dolphins are getting entangled in fishing nets.

The wildlife and fisheries ministries have reacted to these deaths and a few officials have been transferred and suspended but the authorities have yet to find out why these dolphins are dying.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 10^th, 2011.