Rare pregnant dolphin found dead in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich

Representational image

Bahraich: A pregnant dolphin was found dead in Uttar Pradesh's Bahraich on Monday (March 15).

The body of the Gangetic river dolphin was found in Girijapuri barrage under the Katarniyaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.

The dolphin was aged around 11 years, according to divisional forest officer Yashwant Singh.

"A team of veterinary doctors conducted a post-mortem of the dead dolphin and a fetus was found in its uterus," Singh said.

The dolphin was cremated by the forest officials following the laid down rules.

The Gangetic river dolphins, a species of freshwater dolphins, are primarily found in the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers and their tributaries in India, Bangladesh and Nepal.

They were declared national aquatic species in 2010. As per official figures, there are about 3,700 Gangetic river dolphins in the Indian river systems.

In January, a dolphin was beaten to death by a group of men in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh, leading to the arrest of three people.