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Irrawaddy dolphin

2021 APR 8

Preliminary   > Environment and Ecology   >   Species extinction & protection   >   Species in news

About Irrawaddy dolphin

  • Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.
  • These dolphins have a bulging forehead, short beak, and 12-19 teeth on each side of both jaws.
  • The Irrawaddy dolphin is a euryhaline (able to tolerate a wide range of salinity) species of oceanic dolphin found in discontinuous subpopulations near seacoasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia.
  • It is an aquatic mammal.
  • Although sometimes referred to as the Irrawaddy river dolphin, it is not a true river dolphin, but an oceanic dolphin that lives in brackish water near coasts, river mouths and in estuaries.
  • Protection from international trade is provided by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). 
  • In 2004, CITES transferred the Irrawaddy dolphin from Appendix II to Appendix I, which forbids all commercial trade in species that are threatened with extinction.
  • The Irrawaddy dolphin is listed on both Appendix I and Appendix II of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).
  • Irrawaddy dolphins in general however, are IUCN listed as an Endangered species, which applies throughout their whole range.

Prelims Question

 Consider the following regarding Irrawaddy Dolphin:
1.They are considered as critically endangered in IUCN red data book.
2.It can survive in brackish water.
Choose the correct statements from the codes given below:
(a)1 only
(b)2 only
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to the Prelims Question