Irrawaddy Dolphin: Strange Species

Irrawaddy Dolphin

Most of us must have seen or heard about the intelligent dolphins that are famous in the aquariums worldwide. They are very friendly and have very sharp memory too. The even help fishermen in Southeast Asian costs in fishing as they can be trained to catch small fishes in fishing nets. For doing this they are tied to fishing net and then they dive inside the ocean to trap fishes and then are called back to the coast by using a specific ultrasonic frequency. Due to these capabilities these oceanic dolphins have secured an important place in the traditional fishing techniques. Due to this, sometimes they are drowned with the fishing nets or are killed unknowingly. They are also captured for keeping in ponds and aquariums. These activities have threatened their species to a large extent. Irrawaddy dolphin has been declared as vulnerable and the species is critically endangered in many countries like Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Thailand and Philippines. Habitat degradation is also a major threat to their population, though several efforts have been started worldwide to save the species.

Irrawaddy dolphin is generally bluish gray in color. Its color is uniform with no distinctive feature. The color fades to be whitish underneath. They are similar to beluga and are closely related to killer whales. They are found in the river deltas and coasts of Southeast Asia. Many times they are also referred as Irrawaddy river dolphin, but they are not found in rivers. They are also seen in the deltas of Ganga, Brahmaputra, etc.

They communicate with the members of their sub population with clicks, creaks and buzzes at ultrasonic frequencies. They feed on crustaceans, bony fishes and fish eggs.


Irrawaddy dolphins reach puberty at the age of seven to nine and can give birth to a single calf in every two to three years. The gestation period for this dolphin is 14 months. The lifespan of Irrawaddy dolphin is about 30 years.
Credits: Image Source- Google Images

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