Indus and Ganges River Dolphins
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Platanista minor (Indus)
Platanista gangetica (Ganges)
OTHER NAMES: (Indus) Indus Susu, Bhulan (Ganges) Ganges Susu, Gangetic Dolphin (both) Blind River Dolphin, Side-swimming Dolphin
LOCATION: They are found in the Indus River and Ganges River, the Brahmaputra River and the Meghna River.
SIZE: (adult) 5- 8 ft, 155-200 lb
(newborn) 28-35 in, 75 lb
POD SIZE: 1-2, or as much as 10.
DIET: fish, krill
POPULATION: 500
THREATS: fishing nets, hunting, human disturbance, habitat destruction, pollution
DESCRIPTION: The Indus and the Ganges River Dolphins are the only two dolphins that look identical in appearance. For a long time, they were thought to be a single species. Then differences were found in their skull structure and blood protein, distinguishing them as separate species. They range in color, from pale blue, to shades of gray to a chocolate brown, sometimes with a pinkish belly. They have tiny eyes and a steeply sloping forehead. The very long beak (which can be as much as 1/5 the length of its body) thickens at the end and the mouth line curves upward, and they are longer in males. Long, sharp teeth are visible in the front, even when the mouth is closed. The top jaw can have 52-78 teeth, and the lower jaw 52-70. The flippers are paddle-shaped and show “fingers”, with wavy edges. The body is stocky, and it has a rounded belly. There is a low, triangle-shaped hump on their backs. The flukes are broad and wide, and have concave trailing edges and a distinct notch in the middle. They are the only cetaceans that don’t have a crystalline eye lens, making them pretty much blind.
BEHAVIOR: Both species don’t seem to have rest periods, and swim and vocalize all the time. They may breach when they are upset, rising almost completely out of the water and diving back head first with a loud lobtail. They even side-swim, with one flipper trailing in he mud at the bottom of the river. They show more above water than any other river dolphin. Females will even give their calves piggy-back rides, and lift them out of the water on their backs. They are generally slow, but can have bursts of speed. Both species tend to live as single individuals, or in pairs, but rarely in larger groups.
