Dolphin rescued from Indira Canal; dies an hour later

LUCKNOW: A seven feet dolphin was rescued by a joint team of Turtle Survival Alliance (TSA) and forest department from Indira Canal on Saturday after an hour-long operation but it was later declared dead by a team of veterinary doctors from Lucknow zoo. Locals saw the dolphin in Indira Canal at around 12pm on Saturday and informed officials in tehsil, from where the information was forwarded to forest department and TSA.
District forest officer (DFO) Manoj Sonkar said that a joint team of forest department and TSA reached the spot at around 12.30pm. The dolphin was safely taken out of the canal after an hour-long rescue operation.
It was likely to be a Gangetic Dolphin, an endangered species. However, after one hour, the veterinary doctors who were also part of the operation declared it dead. The body has been sent for post-mortem to establish the cause of death.
Forest officials said that they cannot confirm the species of the dolphin before the postmortem.
According to TSA members, dolphins often come in Lucknow range from Ghagra river while chasing fishes. The Gangetic dolphins come along with rising river water which is released in canals. As canals are not their natural habitat, they are unable to turn. Only dolphins less than 2 metre long can turn in canals, said TSA members.