Gangetic river dolphin
Also called: Susu · Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Gangetic river dolphin is a freshwater dolphin, also called the susu. It is nearly blind. It finds food by echolocation: it sends out sounds and listens to the echoes that bounce back off fish and objects. It lives in the Ganga and Brahmaputra river systems. The IUCN lists it as Endangered. It became India's National Aquatic Animal in 2009. A healthy dolphin population shows that the river is healthy.
Example
The Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary on the Ganga in Bihar protects this dolphin. The first river-dolphin survey (2025) counted about 6,300, mostly in Uttar Pradesh (verify current).
Don't confuse with
- Dugong: a sea mammal that eats seagrass. The Gangetic dolphin lives in rivers and eats fish.
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