Fearing cruelty, environment ministry says no to dolphin parks

Chetan Chauhan, Hindustan Times  New Delhi, May 08, 2013
A dolphin kiss or their playful nature in man-made water holes would remain elusive for the Indian audience.

The environment ministry rejected the plan to develop dolphinariums in different locations in India, including Delhi's neighbourhood of Noida, Kochi in Kerala and Mumbai.

Dolphinarium is an artificial, commercial facility where the aquatic animals are kept in captivity and displayed for amusement of audience at a high price by taking away their right to live in their natural habitat. India's only brush with dolphinarium was in 1990s with a park in Chennai, which closed soon after the death of all captive mammals.

Places such as United States and Dubai have big dolphin parks and are branded as an effort to create awareness about recluse creature. But, Brazil, United Kingdom and Chile have banned dolphins in captivity.

"We will not allow dolphinariums," environment and forest minister Jayanthi Natarajan told Hindustan Times.

The ministry would soon come out with a ban on dolphin parks, some of which were proposed in collaboration with foreign players. The reason is that the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, and the Wildlife Protection Act prohibits display of animals and birds for amusement, a reason for them vanishing from circuses in India.

Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/NewDelhi/Fearing-cruelty-environment-ministry-says-no-to-dolphin-parks/Article1-1056519.aspx

Gangetic river dolphin population stable in Bihar

PATNA: The endangered Gangetic river dolphin population has been stable in Bihar over the last six years, despite accidental and intentional killing of the mammal in the rivers, an official said.

The latest survey and dolphin count by the state Dolphin Conservation Committee has revealed that the population of the Gangetic dolphin has stabilized, an official said Tuesday.

"This is good news for all of us, and conservationists and environmentalists are happy that the population of the Gangetic river dolphin has remained unchanged in a 650-km stretch in the state," RK Sinha, an expert on Gangetic river dolphins and chairman of the Dolphin Conservation Committee of the state said.

Sinha said that a survey by the committee in a 500-km stretch in river Ganga found 1.5 dolphins per kilometre on concentration parameters, the same as in the survey undertaken in 2006.

In a 150-km stretch in river Gandak, the survey found .55 dolphins per kilometre.

"The stable count of dolphins is encouraging. Breeding has helped the species maintain steady population concentration in the river, irrespective of bio-degradation of habitat and other threats to their survival," the committee said.

Sinha said the survey registered between 775 to 800 sightings of dolphins in river Ganges between Chausa and Sahebganj in Bihar, while 88 sightings of dolphins were recorded in river Gandak.

The survey was undertaken for the preparation of the report of action plan for conservation of dolphins in the state.

"We will submit the draft report of action plan to the state government this month," Sinha said.

Gangetic dolphins, India's national aquatic animal, are killed at an alarming rate by poachers for their flesh as well as oil, which is used as an ointment and considered an aphrodisiac. Their carcasses are regularly found on the river banks.

The Gangetic river dolphin is one of the four freshwater dolphin species in the world. The other three are found in the Yangtze river in China, the Indus river in Pakistan and the Amazon river in South America.

The mammal is covered under the Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act and has been declared an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Last year, the Bihar government decided to set up a task force for the conservation of the endangered animal.

Earlier this year, a Gangetic dolphin research centre, the first such centre in the country, was set up in the Bihar capital.

The Gangetic river species - found in India, Bangladesh and Nepal - is blind and finds its way and prey in the river waters through echoes.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/environment/flora-fauna/Gangetic-river-dolphin-population-stable-in-Bihar/articleshow/18947253.cms

Marine pollution, poaching threaten dolphins

SANTOSH PATNAIK

PITIABLE:The carcass of a bottlenose dolphin being
shifted after it was swept ashore at Visakhapatnam.
- Photo: C.V. Subrahmanyam

Sighting a dolphin on the shores between Visakhapatnam and Kakinada may become a thing of the past with such a death reported at a regular interval.

North Andhra coast is a habitat for mostly bottlenose dolphins. Spinner, humpback and common dolphins are also found in limited numbers.

Dolphins provide relaxing moments for the mariners and tourists going on a boat ride being organised by AP Tourism Development Corporation (APTDC). There is also a proposal to promote dolphin tourism in a big way by deploying more vessels to enthral animal lovers.

Due to their dwindling number, dolphins are categorised in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).

Poaching, indiscriminate dumping of industrial effluents and spurt in commercial fishing have led to falling number of dolphins in North Andhra coast, a study revealed.

Being sports aquatic animals, dolphins are most loved creatures for people of all age groups.

They are not harmful and friendly to human beings and are good at imitating and mimicking them. For feeding they move from one place to another and are normally seen in near shore water.

“For past two decades or so, due to increased activity, their population has been under threat. During our study, we found dolphins, mostly bottlenose dolphins are dying because of killing by fishermen for its tasty meat, pollution caused by industrial effluents and increased fishing activity,” Dr. D.E. Babu, zoology professor of Andhra University, told The Hindu .

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/marine-pollution-poaching-threaten-dolphins/article4473774.ece