Protecting Irrawaddy Dolphins
MUCH to the pleasure of the wildlife conservationists, a survey along Bangladesh's coast and estuaries counted about six thousand of the Irrawaddy dolphins. Their existence was believed to be under serious threat. The International Union of Conservation of Nature had put it in the list of critically endangered animals. The New York-based Wildlife Conservation Society and the Bangladesh Cetacean Diversity Project jointly launched the survey in 2003 as part a five-year wildlife study. The researchers surveyed the waters along Bangladesh's 1,400-kilometres coastline and discovered by far the biggest population of these dolphins. Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) was identified by Sir Richard Owen in 1866 and is one of the two species of the genus (the other being the Australian Snubfin Dolphin). Though the animal is sometimes called after the Irrawaddy River, it is actually and oceanic dolphin that lives near the coasts and enters rivers including the Ganges, the Mekong and the Irrawaddy. Its range extends from the Bay of Bengal to New Guinea and the Philippines. Many of the dolphins have reportedly been found in the world's largest mangrove forest, the Sundarbans. The presence of the species is a yardstick of measuring the environmental condition of their habitat. The concentration of the Irrawaddy dolphins in the Bay indicates that the pollution level of the area is not yet threatening for the existence of the species. A scientific study is expected to lead to further grasp on environmental condition of the Bay and the life of aquatic animals. Netting of the animals for oil and meat is a serious threat to their existence. The Bay of Bengal must be protected from pollution. At the same time, trading in dolphin products must be banned to protect the animals from extinction.