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Gangetic River Dolphin
- Context (DTE): Bihar Chief Minister inaugurated India’s first research center for the Gangetic river dolphin, the National Dolphin Research Centre (NDRC).
- Gangetic River Dolphin is India’s national aquatic animal.
- Conservation Status: IUCN: Endangered | WPA, 1972: Schedule I | CITES: Appendix I
- Distribution: India, Bangladesh and Nepal.
- 4 freshwater dolphin species in the world: The Gangetic River dolphin, Irrawaddy dolphin in Myanmar (both marine and freshwater), Indus River dolphin in Pakistan and Amazon River dolphin in South America.
- Bihar is home to around half of the estimated 3,000 Gangetic dolphins in India.
- It is blind and finds its way and prey in river waters through echolocation.
- They are usually found in turbulent waters, where there are enough fish for them to feed on.
- Gangetic dolphins live in a zone where there is little or no current, helping them save energy.