About the Ganges River Dolphin
The Ganges River Dolphin — India's national aquatic animal — is one of only four freshwater dolphin species in the world and the only blind dolphin, having evolved in the murky, sediment-laden waters of the Gangetic plain where vision is useless. It navigates, hunts, and communicates entirely through sophisticated echolocation. Found in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river systems of India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, the dolphin is a critically important indicator of river health — its presence signals a relatively clean, undisturbed river ecosystem.
Once abundant throughout the Ganga and its major tributaries, the Ganges River Dolphin has been eliminated from large sections of its former range by river fragmentation through dams (which block migration routes), industrial pollution, fishing net entanglement, and sand dredging. The National Chambal Sanctuary is one of the cleanest river sections in India and holds an important dolphin population alongside gharials. The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in Bihar — a 60 km stretch of the Ganga — is the only sanctuary in India specifically established to protect this species.