By Abinash Chaudhary

Dhangadhi, June 15: Gangetic River Dolphins, one of the rarest species of dolphins in the world, are spotted in the rivers of Kailali.
Dolphins are being seen in rivers like Mohana, Pathraiya and Kandha because of the rise in water level. When the water level drops, these aquatic mammals migrate to the Karnali River in search of depth. But they again return to these rivers when the water level rises in the monsoon.
Conservationist Bhojraj Dhungana said that rains in the Chure region had increased the water volume in the rivers and that two dolphins were repeatedly seen since Saturday in Baidi, Tikapur Municipality- 7. He informed that an adult and a child had been seen for the first time this year.
“The two dolphins are mother and baby and were seen at the confluence of Mohana and Pathraiya rivers,” said Dhungana. In previous years, dolphins would only arrive in the tributaries of Karnali from the third or fourth week of June. This year, Dhungana said, they arrived earlier. The dolphins can be observed throughout the monsoon.
According to conservationist Vijay Raj Shrestha, dolphins can be very closely observed at the confluence of the Mohana and Pathraiya rivers, Pathraiya and Kandha rivers and Pathraiya and Gairi rivers.
These dolphins, which are placed in the red list of threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), will go back to the Karnali and are believed to reach as far as Ghanghara, India, after the monsoon ends.
However, dolphins had been seen in Mohana River in January of this year as well. In Karnali though, dolphins are found throughout the year, as shown by various studies.
Dolphins have been protected in Kailali since the year 2000. It must be noted that leading the charge in dolphin conservation at the community level is a 75-year-old man who was once famous as an expert hunter – Bhojraj Shrestha. Because of his efforts and the community’s dedication towards the conservation of this species, many tourists from all over the world come to the district to catch a glimpse of this creature.
Gangetic dolphins, which prefer to live in clean water, are said to come to the Kailali’s rivers to raise their young. However, rising pollution and the rampant hunting of prey fishes are posing a challenge to their conservation. They also tend to get caught in nets set by fishermen to catch other fish.
But, conservationist Dhungana said that the practise of placing nets and polluting the river by throwing plastic and animal carcasses had been banned.