Brahmagiri: The carcass of a rare Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) was found at Ghatapentha in Puri district on Sunday morning.
Till the filing of this report, residents had rushed there in large numbers, but no forest department officials had arrived yet. The cause of the dolphin’s death was yet to be ascertained. Three dolphins have been found dead for various reasons this month.
A census conducted last month had put the number of dolphins in Chilika at 113. A census report released on February 21 reported a sharp decline in dolphin population in Chilika’s Satapada this year. In fact, the numbers of the aquatic mammal had dipped across Odisha from 469 in 2018 to 259 now.
Three types of dolphins are sighted in Odisha – Irrawaddy (130), Bottle Nose (16) and Humpback (116). Irrawaddy dolphins live in brackish waters of the Chilika and at river mouths.
