Overview
- The environment ministry launched the range-wide count from Bijnor under Project Dolphin with 26 researchers on three boats using hydrophones to log ecological and habitat data.
- The Wildlife Institute of India is coordinating the effort with state forest departments and partners including WWF India, Aaranyak and the Wildlife Trust of India.
- Phase one spans the Ganga’s main stem from Bijnor to Ganga Sagar and the Indus, with phase two planned for the Brahmaputra, Ganga tributaries, the Sundarbans and Odisha.
- For the first time in the nationwide exercise, teams will estimate Irrawaddy dolphins in the Sundarbans and Odisha.
- The survey follows standardized protocols from the 2021–2023 assessment that estimated 6,327 riverine dolphins, with recent training for forest staff to ensure uniform field practices.