2020 – Posted in: Daily News – Tags: dolphins

Irrawaddy dolphins

Hundreds of Irrawaddy dolphins were sighted in Chilika lake during the annual census conducted by Forest department.

Irrawaddy dolphins are found in coastal areas in South and Southeast Asia, and in three rivers: the Ayeyarwady (Myanmar), the Mahakam (Indonesian Borneo) and the Mekong.
These dolphins have a bulging forehead, short beak, and 12-19 teeth on each side of both jaws.
The Irrawaddy dolphin is a euryhaline species of oceanic dolphin found in discontinuous subpopulations near sea coasts and in estuaries and rivers in parts of the Bay of Bengal and Southeast Asia.

Irrawaddy dolphin

Chilika Lake is a brackish water lagoon, spread over the Puri, Khurda and Ganjam districts of Odisha. It is the largest coastal lagoon in India and the second largest brackish water lagoon in the world after The New Caledonian barrier reef.
It has been listed as a tentative UNESCO World Heritage site.

CDA, an Odisha government agency, has been created under Forest & Environment Department of Government of Odisha in the year 1991 with an objective for conservation of ecology of Chilika lagoon and to bring an all round development in and around the lagoon.
Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha is the Chairman of Chilika Development Authority.