Wildlife officials rescue seven stranded dolphins, release into Indus

SUKKUR: Sindh Wildlife Department officials have rescued seven stranded blind Indus dolphins, locally known as Bulhan, from canals and released them into the Indus River, ARY News reported on Tuesday.

According to details, the Sindh Wildlife team saved a blind dolphin with a rescue operation from Rohri canal and released it into the Indus.

Seven blind dolphins stranded in canals were rescued by the teams of the wildlife department and released them to safety in the Indus river.

Blind dolphins stranded after surge in water levels in the river, officials said.

In January this year over 27 Indus blind dolphins were stranded at 10 different water canals. Over 30 persons participated in a month-long rescue operation to shift them to the river, according to officials.

The Wildlife Department had set up a Dolphin Rescue Control Room (DRCR) at Sukkur Barrage to coordinate rescue of dolphins stranded in the regional canals.

Indus dolphins often get stranded in canals due to the one-way flow of water restricting their entry back into the main River Indus. If not rescued, the mortality of the animal becomes inevitable.

The River Indus dolphin has been marked as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

These mammals have to adapt to life in the muddy river water, and are believed since then to be functionally blind. Without eyes, the rare specie of blind dolphins rely on echolocation to communicate, navigate, and hunt prey including catfish, prawns, and carp.