6 stranded Gangetic river dolphins rescued in Lucknow

Lucknow: A pod of six stranded Gangetic river dolphins was rescued from the Sharda canal near Anchali Khera village in Lucknow's Mohanlalganj and released into the Ghaghra river in Bahraich district on Wednesday. The operation was conducted jointly by the UP forest department (UPFD) and Turtle Survival Alliance Foundation India.The rescue mission was launched following reports of dolphins stranded due to sudden water release and flash floods in the canal network. The operation involved 24 hours of intense reconnaissance, meticulous planning, mock drills and night-long camping on-site by the teams. The actual rescue spanned nearly 12 hours and involved five specially trained primary and rapid response teams."What made the operation particularly challenging was the presence of two lactating mothers in the pod, each accompanied by a calf. Four adult females and two calves were carefully corralled, restrained and translocated during the early hours to minimise exposure to heat stress and prevent disturbances from local crowds," said biologist Arunima Singh, who led the rescue operation."Special precautions were taken to ensure that the mother-calf pairs remained together throughout the rescue, transport and release, which is critical to prevent separation and improve chances of survival post-release," said DFO Lucknow Shitanshu Pandey. "This rescue not only reinforces our commitment to conserving India's national aquatic animal but also highlights the coordination, skill and scientific precision involved in such operations," he said.Singh said that the only solution is deterring them from entering the canal because it's hard for them to go back when they come far from the river. "So camera traps, acoustic studies and physical barriers can be tested at the gate. Aquatic deterrent devices should be tested," she said.The Gangetic River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica) is an endemic and endangered species found exclusively in the river systems of the Indian subcontinent. Uttar Pradesh is home to over 2,400 dolphins, the largest population of GRDs in the world. However, each year, several dolphins get stranded in vast irrigation canal networks, particularly during water releases and monsoon flooding. Without timely intervention, these dolphins face fatal risks from heat exposure, irrigation infrastructure, or even harm from uninformed locals.Since the inception of coordinated rescue efforts in 2013, 40 dolphins have been saved in Uttar Pradesh alone. Given the species' slow reproductive rate – with females typically giving birth to only five to six calves in their lifetime – each successful rescue represents a critical contribution to the species' survival.