UP police have taken into custody 3 people for allegedly being involved in the killing of the endangered Gangetic dolphin. This was after a video surfaced on the incident.?
As per a CNN report, investigating officer Akhilesh Pratap Singh said that the dolphin's carcass was found near the Sharda canal in the Pratapgarh district on December 31. On December 7, 3 people in the video were arrested. 9 others are still on the run, said Singh.?
According to WWF India, the Gangetic dolphin was "once present in tens of thousands of numbers" but has now "dwindled abysmally" to a population of less than 1800 in the last century.?
"Living in one of the most densely populated parts of the world, the Ganges river dolphin faces threats from agriculture and industrial pollution and other human activity such as dam creation, irrigation projects and fishing," said the WWF.?
They are in the 'endangered' category in the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List.?
These creatures can only live in freshwater and are pretty much blind. They hunt by emitting ultrasonic sounds, which bounce off their prey, so they can ¡°see¡± an image in their mind. Usually, they are alone or in small groups. A mother and calf normally travel together.?