Dikhyaa Mohanty 
The State Forest Department claimed that the dolphin population in Odisha has doubled in a year and many new bread dolphins are coming to inhabitant the lake in Odisha.
According to the official report Chilika Lake is known for the dolphin population due to which a large number of tourists came to visit the place every year. The report informs that around 188 dolphins which include 162 Irrawaddy dolphins and 26 bottlenose dolphins, in Chilika Lake were spotted this year. Last year the official sighted around 163 dolphins which include 146 Irrawaddy and 17 bottlenoses in the lake.
Sashi Pal, principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF), Odisha stated that the Irrawaddy dolphin is the flagship species inhabiting the lake and the species is spotted only in Asia from Chilika to Indonesia. Officials spotted only four dolphins in the Puri wildlife division, eight in the Bhadrak wildlife division, and two in the Balasore wildlife division of the state during the census.
He further added that the population estimation exercise for dolphins was carried out within a width of one kilometer from the 484-km-long sea beach in Odisha and Chilika Lake. As many as 41 teams conducted dolphin censuses on January 29, February 5, and February 12, 2021. And the number of dolphins spotted increased throughout 2020 and 2021 in Gahirmatha marine sanctuary and its nearby areas within Bhitarkanika National Park of Kendrapara district.
As per the official report around 342 dolphins that includes 39 Irrawaddy dolphins, 22 bottlenose dolphins, and 281 humpback dolphins in 2021 there; in 2020, only 62 dolphins, including 60 Irrawaddy dolphins and two humpback dolphins, were sighted.
According to one of the forest officers in the water bodies like Khola, Nalitapata, Dhamara the dolphins are commonly sighted and in the sea near Satabhaya, Pentha, Agaranashi, Eakakula, Hukitola, and other areas within the Gahirmatha marine sanctuary.
Since 2003 CDA conducts the annual population estimation survey of Irrawaddy dolphins and the 2021 annual survey was conducted by the ‘Transact Survey Method’.
Image Source – Google
