Ganges river dolphin tagged for the first time in India

GUWAHATI A team of wildlife conservationists tagged the almost-blind Ganges river dolphin for the first time.

A healthy male river dolphin from Kulsi, a tributary of the Brahmaputra, was tagged and released under veterinary care. An initiative of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, it was executed by the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) in collaboration with the Assam Forest Department and biodiversity conservation group Aaranyak.

The tagging under Project Dolphin is expected to help understand the dolphin’s seasonal and migratory patterns, range, distribution, and habitat utilisation, particularly in fragmented or disturbed river systems. Officials said the lightweight tags emit signals compatible with Argos satellite systems even with limited surfacing time and are designed to minimize interference with dolphin movement.