Berhampur: After the annual mid-winter count of waterfowl, a three-day annual dolphin census began in Chilika Wildlife Division on Monday.
A total of 18 groups, consisting of five to eight persons each, including the experts from Wildlife Institute of India (WII), are conducting the enumeration of dolphins. They are equipped with Chilika’s map, binoculars, spotting scopes, GPS and notebooks, said Chilika DFO Amlan Nayak.
Boat association members have been asked not to operate their boats during the census, he added.
A day-long training session for enumerators was also conducted by scientists of Chilika Development Authority (CDA) at Barkul the previous day.
In 2023, 173 dolphins of two species — Irrawaddy (154) and bottlenose (19) — were found in the lake.
The one-day annual bird census on January 18 pegged the overall bird population of Chilika lagoon at around 11.27 lakh. The bird count dropped marginally by around 10,000 compared to last year. However, officials reported congregation of 196 species of birds as against 187 species in 2023.
