On Friday, residents of a Bhagabanpur in West Bengal woke up to an unusual animal swimming in the local canal – a dolphin. Seeing the creature swimming in the local water body, created a frenzy among people – it’s because dolphins live in lagoons, rivers, and oceans.
Sadly, despite efforts of forest officials the Gangetic dolphin died on Saturday .
The news of the mammal on Friday prompted locals to gather around the canal to catch its glimpse, reports Bengali daily Sangbad Pratidin. Soon police and forest officials reached the area to take charge of the situation.
A video of dolphin swimming in the canal, however, made its way onto Twitter and was shared by IFS officer Parveen Kaswan.
“The dolphin had entered the canal on Friday. We tried to push it back into the river and managed to do so for at least 15 km downstream. But there were fishing nets which obstructed its path. The water was also polluted as plastic and thermocol are dumped in the canal. It couldn’t be saved,” said Swagata Das, the local divisional forest officer.
{{/usCountry}}“The dolphin had entered the canal on Friday. We tried to push it back into the river and managed to do so for at least 15 km downstream. But there were fishing nets which obstructed its path. The water was also polluted as plastic and thermocol are dumped in the canal. It couldn’t be saved,” said Swagata Das, the local divisional forest officer.
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