DADU: A blind dolphin, one of the protected fish species facing extinction, was shot dead and buried by unknown suspects near the Garang Regulator, located along the Sindh-Balochistan border area, on Monday.

It was gathered that the dolphin was spotted in the flows falling in the Saifullah Magsi Canal in Balochistan and the shooters mistook it as some dangerous animal like a shark.

Wildlife officials from Sindh and Balochistan rushed to the site after receiving information about the incident and recovered the carcass. They transported it to a cold storage in Sukkur for temporary preservation and started an inquiry.

The dolphin is believed to be 18-month-old with 4.5 feet length.

According to the wildlife officials, it might have travelled through River Indus from the Sukkur Barrage area and reached the Garang Regulator via Khirthar Canal. According to some residents of the nearby village, some persons armed with a gun spotted the big mammal and out of fear fired shots to kill it. After realising that it was dolphin, they fled the area to escape action, the villagers said, adding that the carcass was fished out and buried by local people.

The wildlife officials, after exhuming the carcass and examining it, told the media that two gunshot wounds were clearly visible on the lower half of the body.

When contacted, Sindh wildlife chief conservative Javed Maher told Dawn that the carcass was recovered in a joint action by the Sindh and Balochistan wildlife departments. Mr Mahar’s deputy, Adnan Hamid said that the search for the dolphin carcass was conducted by heads of the Indus blind dolphin conservative unit, Sukkur, Mir Akhtar Talpur and his counterpart in the Sibi unit Zahid Rind along with their respective teams.

“We are in contact with the senior wildlife authorities in Balochistan for the arrest of those who had shot dead the dolphin so that legal procedures could be initiated against them,”said Adnan Hamid. Once traced out, they would be booked under relevant laws and rules, he added.

He said that as many as 27 dolphins were rescued after they were trapped or entangled in various water supply installations in canals between January 2022 and January 2023.

He said as per a survey conducted in 2019, there were 1,419 blind dolphins present in the Indus between Guddu Barrage and Kotri Barrage. Certain modus operandi were in effect to ensure their protection and nourishment, he added.

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2023