Dolphin census begins in Chilika, 18 teams engaged

The annual census of dolphins inhabiting along brackish water bodies of Chilika lake began on Wednesday. The annual exercise started at 6 am and will continue till 2 pm.

As per official sources, 18 teams comprising senior officials of the State Forest department and wildlife experts have been roped in to conduct the dolphin census at Chilika.

As many as three to six members have been deployed in each team.

Local volunteers and members of the Motor Boat Association are also involved in the annual exercise which will be carried on for three days.

Boat ferrying in the lake was prohibited till 2 pm today to facilitate smooth census work. The annual exercise is being done with the help of photography, modern technology like GPS tracking, and other traditional methods.

The wildlife experts are tracking the movement of dolphins with binoculars for the annual headcount exercise of dolphins inhabiting along brackish water bodies of Chilika lake.

"The entire Chilika lagoon has been divided into several sectors- outer and inner Chilika, northern and southern zones for a comprehensive count of the Irrawaddy dolphins by the experts' team," said Ramaswami P, DFO, Chilika Lake.

( With inputs from ANI )

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