National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC)

It is the National Aquatic animal of India (declared in 2009). According to IUCN, it is listed as an Endangered species. It is protected under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

gangetic Dolphin

Ganges river dolphins once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. But the species is extinct from most of its early distribution ranges.
The distribution range of the Ganges river dolphins in India covers seven states namely, Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
The Ganges river dolphin can only live in freshwater and is essentially blind. They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounces off of fish and other prey, enabling them to “see” an image in their mind (echolocation).
October 5th is celebrated as National Ganga River Dolphin Day.

Project Dolphin is a 10-year project in the similar lines of Project Tiger and Project elephant launched in 2020. The idea is to increase the population of Gangetic Dolphins across the Ganga and other rivers.
The project is aimed at saving both river and marine dolphins.

The National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC) is coming up at Patna University, Bihar by 2022. It will be constructed on the banks of River Ganga.
It will come up under Project Dolphin executed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
NDRC would boost conservation efforts of dolphins and would provide an opportunity for in-depth research on dolphins including its changing behaviour, survival skills, food habits, cause of death and other aspects.

Because Bihar accounts for 50% of the world’s river dolphin population. Bihar is home to around half of the estimated 3,000 Gangetic dolphins in India.

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