Ganges and Indus river dolphins eat bottom-dwelling fish such as carp and catfish, and occasionally shrimp and clams. In captivity they eat from 1 to 3.3 pounds (0.5 to 1.5 kilograms) of fish daily.
The single member of this family is a dolphin that lives in freshwater rivers on the Indian subcontinent. At one time, scientists thought that there were two species in this family, the Indus river dolphin and the Ganges river dolphin. However, recent genetic testing shows that even though these groups are separated geographically, they are the same species. Native people call these dolphins �…
The Ganges and Indus river dolphin is found only on the Indian subcontinent. Indus river dolphins live in about a 100-mile (160-kilometer) stretch of the Indus River where it flows through the Sind and Punjab provinces of Pakistan. Their distribution is limited by two dams built in the 1930s. Ganges river dolphins live in the Ganges, Meghna, Brahmaputra, and Karnaphuli Rivers, and their tributarie…
Unlike some social dolphins, Ganges and Indus river dolphins swim alone or with one or two other dolphins. Adults rarely leap out of the water or expose much more of their body than their beak (snout) and melon. Compared to other dolphins, they swim slowly, although they are capable of short bursts of speed. Ganges and Indus river dolphins use echolocation to find their food and navigate around ob…
River dolphins are Endangered, facing a very high risk of extinction. There may be fewer than one thousand individuals remaining in the Indus River, while the outlook is equally grim in other river systems, including the Ganges River. River dolphins are threatened mainly by human development. Dam building, begun in the 1920s, still continues today. Not only do dams isolate groups of dolphins, they…
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