Berhampur: As many as 26 dolphins were sighted in the waters of Bay of Bengal under Berhampur forest division, according to a census carried out by the state forest and environment department Saturday.
Reports suggested that 15 of the mammals were Humppback dolphins while 11 were Bottlenose type. This marks a significant drop from 2017 when the survey teams had recorded 29 dolphins.
The dolphin census began in 2015 when it had recorded 24 dolphins. However, the census in 2016 was suspended due to lack of visibility following cloudy weather and high wind in the sea. The census resumed in 2017 when it recorded 29 dolphins out of which 18 were Humpback and 11 Bottlenose.
The census recorded a drop in the population of dolphins from 29 in 2017 to 26 this year, Berhampur Divisional Forest Officer (DFO) Asish Kumar Behera said. As many as 27 forest officials were engaged in the census. They went into the water in four boats and conducted the census.
The officials were uniformly divided into four groups. The census began in the morning and ended in the evening. As the sea was a bit rough during the headcount, the actual number may be on the higher side, officials said.
Every year, the forest department conducts a headcount of the mammals. A count is also done for the Olive Ridley sea turtles engaged in annual mass nesting. PNN