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| credit: WCS |
Bangladesh, one of the world's poorest nations densely inhabited and racked with seasonal typhoons, has seen fit to declare three new wildlife sanctuaries for endangered freshwater dolphins in the Sundarbans, the world's largest mangrove ecosystem. The two remaining Asian freshwater dolphins, the Ganges River dolphin
(Platanista gangetica gangetica) and the Irrawaddy River dolphin
(Orcacella brevirostris) now live only in the Sundarbans. Their exact numbers are unknown, but there populations are down to several hundred each. The areas declared sanctuaries are small, only 10.7 sq.km. but are considered to be safe zones against extinction by the Wildlife Conservation Society which has been working on conservation in the Sundarbans since 2002. The size and location of the sanctuaries is based on the research of Brian D. Smith, director of WCS's Asian Cetacean Program. River dolphins are severely impacted by human fishing and habitat degradation. The Yangtze River dolphin was last seen in the wild in 2002, and is now considered extinct. The Society will sponsor local education activities to raise awareness of "Shushuk", the Ganges River dolphin, among communities bordering the Sundarbans. The communities subsist on fishing with nets that sometimes entangle dolphins leading to their drowning. The Sundarbans is also the last remaining stronghold of the Bengal tiger.
GREEN KUDOS to Bangladesh!
