Yamanoor Srihari
2004-02-19 19:24:29 UTC
Gunjan Guha <gunjanguha-QOiod4cnrWAN+***@public.gmane.org> wrote:To: ***@yahoogroups.com
From: "Gunjan Guha"
Date: 19 Feb 2004 19:09:33 -0000
Subject: Zoology M.Sc. & Beyond India counts rare river dolphins
Subject: India counts rare river dolphins
India has embarked on a major census of river dolphins, which face
becoming extinct in South Asia.
The census, the first of its kind in the Sunderbans delta region in
West Bengal state, will also cover the neighbouring states of Bihar
and Assam.
Just 2-3,000 river dolphins remain in India, down from thousands a
century ago, wildlife officials believe.
Plummeting numbers have been blamed on pollution, hunting and fishing
nets, in which dolphins become entangled.
Poachers kill river dolphins mainly for their oil, which is then used
by fishermen as bait, wildlife officials say.
Most river dolphins are blind - the only species in the world to have
eyes without lenses.
They navigate through the silt and mud using a sophisticated sonar
system.
Scanners
India holds censuses of river dolphins "once, or even twice a year"
in the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Aniruddha
Mookerjee, a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) official, told BBC News
Online.
But this census is being seen as significant because it is the first
of its kind in the Sunderbans delta, home to the world-famous Royal
Bengal Tigers.
Since the river dolphin is at the head of the aquatic food chain,
its presence in adequate numbers symbolises greater bio-diversity in
the river system
Colonel Shakti Banerjee
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
"They are as endangered as the better-known tigers, if not more
endangered," Subrata Pal Chowdhury, a senior West Bengal wildlife
official told Reuters news agency.
He said the census would reveal the actual number of dolphins left in
the rivers of eastern India.
Wildlife officials say they are scanning the Ganges and its
tributary, the Bhagirathi river, for dolphins using sophisticated
photo imagery equipment on boats fitted with searchlights.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) official Colonel Shakti Banerjee told the
BBC that the presence of dolphins in a river points to a healthy
ecosystem.
"Since the river dolphin is at the head of the aquatic food chain,
its presence in adequate numbers symbolises greater bio-diversity in
the river system," he said.
River dolphins are also found in China, Brazil, Pakistan, Nepal,
Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Zoology M.Sc. & Beyond --Let's be commensals.
---------------------------------
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From: "Gunjan Guha"
Date: 19 Feb 2004 19:09:33 -0000
Subject: Zoology M.Sc. & Beyond India counts rare river dolphins
Subject: India counts rare river dolphins
India has embarked on a major census of river dolphins, which face
becoming extinct in South Asia.
The census, the first of its kind in the Sunderbans delta region in
West Bengal state, will also cover the neighbouring states of Bihar
and Assam.
Just 2-3,000 river dolphins remain in India, down from thousands a
century ago, wildlife officials believe.
Plummeting numbers have been blamed on pollution, hunting and fishing
nets, in which dolphins become entangled.
Poachers kill river dolphins mainly for their oil, which is then used
by fishermen as bait, wildlife officials say.
Most river dolphins are blind - the only species in the world to have
eyes without lenses.
They navigate through the silt and mud using a sophisticated sonar
system.
Scanners
India holds censuses of river dolphins "once, or even twice a year"
in the northern states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, Aniruddha
Mookerjee, a Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) official, told BBC News
Online.
But this census is being seen as significant because it is the first
of its kind in the Sunderbans delta, home to the world-famous Royal
Bengal Tigers.
Since the river dolphin is at the head of the aquatic food chain,
its presence in adequate numbers symbolises greater bio-diversity in
the river system
Colonel Shakti Banerjee
World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
"They are as endangered as the better-known tigers, if not more
endangered," Subrata Pal Chowdhury, a senior West Bengal wildlife
official told Reuters news agency.
He said the census would reveal the actual number of dolphins left in
the rivers of eastern India.
Wildlife officials say they are scanning the Ganges and its
tributary, the Bhagirathi river, for dolphins using sophisticated
photo imagery equipment on boats fitted with searchlights.
World Wildlife Fund (WWF) official Colonel Shakti Banerjee told the
BBC that the presence of dolphins in a river points to a healthy
ecosystem.
"Since the river dolphin is at the head of the aquatic food chain,
its presence in adequate numbers symbolises greater bio-diversity in
the river system," he said.
River dolphins are also found in China, Brazil, Pakistan, Nepal,
Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Zoology M.Sc. & Beyond --Let's be commensals.
---------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/zoology_msc_beyond/
To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
zoology_msc_beyond-unsubscribe-***@public.gmane.org
Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the Yahoo! Terms of Service.
La vie..
http://www.stanford.edu/~yamanoor
http://yamanoor.tblog.com
---------------------------------
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