This is one of the few freshwater dolphin species occuring in the world. It inhabits freshwater rivers. Subspecies gangetica (Ganges River Dolphin) inhabits mainly Ganges river system and river Brahmaputra, thus occuring in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, whereas subspecies minor inhabits Indus river in Pakistan. It forms small aggregations at times but can be mostly seen singly. They feed on shrimps, fishes and birds. It is known to use echolocation for communication.

Conservation Status:

This species is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (https://www.iucnredlist.org/).


According to IUCN Red List assessment, population of this species decreasing all over its range. current estimate of Ganges River Dolphin is approximately 3500 and that of Indus River Dolphin is between 1200 and 1800 mature individuals. Threat to its survival mainly come from water pollution, overfishing, residential and commercial development, and occasional trapping in fish nets.