Irrawaddy Dolphin

WHY IN NEWS?

Odisha Forest Department officials, wildlife experts and researchers on Sunday sighted 146 endangered Irrawaddy dolphins in Chilika Lake, which boasts of the highest single lagoon population of the aquatic mammal in the world.

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 sea coasts 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 IIto 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

Q. Consider the following statements regarding Irrawaddy dolphins:
1.The highest single lagoon population of the aquatic mammal in the world is in Chilika Lake.
2.Irrawaddy dolphins are IUCN listed as Critically Endangered species.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
a)1 only
b)2 only
c)Both 1 and 2
d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to the Prelims Question