A decomposing dolphin recovered from the Halda River in Chattogram heightens fears for the critically endangered species after repeated deaths prompt investigations by police and researchers at the university lab.
A dead dolphin weighing about 40 kilograms was recovered from the Halda River in Bangladesh’s southeastern port city of Chattogram on Tuesday, renewing concerns over the safety of the critically endangered species in the country’s only natural carp breeding river.
The carcass was spotted floating with tidal water at around 11:45 am in the Barighona area of Uttar Madarsha Union under Hathazari Upazila. Members of the Halda River unit of the naval police later retrieved the dolphin and brought it ashore.
Officials said the body was sent to the Halda River Research Centre at Chittagong University for an inquest and post-mortem examination.
Sub-Inspector Muhammad Ramzan Ali of the Halda naval police outpost confirmed the recovery, saying the dolphin appeared to have died several days earlier. “The body was decomposing and swollen. No visible injury marks were found, but the exact cause of death will be known after the inquest and post-mortem,” he said.
According to the Halda Research and Laboratory Centre of Chittagong University, this was the fourth dead dolphin recovered from the river in the past nine months. The previous incident occurred on August 25, when another dolphin was found dead in the Katachali canal section of Madunaghat in Hathazari.
Officials said the dolphin measured about 3.5 feet in length and weighed roughly 40 kilograms.
Data from the research centre show that 47 dead dolphins have been recovered from the Halda River over the last six and a half years. In most cases, injury marks were found on the bodies, and allegations have been raised that several dolphins were deliberately killed.
Halda dolphins are listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List. Globally, only about 1,100 dolphins of this species remain, with an estimated 170 once inhabiting the Halda River alone. Experts say the deaths of 49 dolphins within a relatively short period are deeply alarming.
Dr Md Manzoorul Kibria, coordinator of the Halda River Research Laboratory, said the dolphin had been recovered by the naval police and handed over to the university. “Our researchers will conduct the inquest and post-mortem to determine the cause of death,” he said.
