PATNA: In a shocking incident, suspected poachers late on Friday night killed a six-feet-long male Gangetic dolphin, declared an endangered species, on the banks of river Ganga. The national aquatic animal, weighting around 75 kg, was found atGanga diara opposite PMCH here on Saturday.

The animal had a hole on its back, which made experts suspect that the animal was killed. A thin rope was tied to its right ventral fins, which indicated that the poachers were carrying the animal towards Gai Ghat.

An employee of a food plaza set up in Ganga diara for tourists, Surya Prakash, spotted the dead animal and informed Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation (BSTDC) DGM Navin Kumar, who in turn informed the forest officials.

"Prima facie, the dolphin does not seem to have died of natural causes. It was killed somewhere last night. It has either floated with water current or someone was trying to carry it somewhere," Zoological Survey of India's officer-in-charge, Bihar-Jharkhand, Gopal Sharma, said.

"It is very sad that a Gangetic dolphin has died in spite of concerted efforts by forest officials to save it," Sharma added.

A forest department team has taken the dolphin's body in custody. "The cause of death will be known only after post-mortem," Surendra Singh, divisional forest officer, Patna, said. Forest department officials will prepare a detailed report on its death within a week and submit it to the department.

Official sources attributed poaching to the fact that while Patna forest officials were trying to create awareness against poaching of Gangetic dolphins, Saran and Vaishali officials were not.

It may be noted that dolphins are poached for their oil which is said to be a panacea for arthritis. Gangetic dolphins are protected under the Forest Conservation Act, 1972. Their poaching is a non-bailable offence and invites imprisonment of three to seven years and a fine of Rs 10,000.

The Gangetic dolphins have been recognized by the Government of India as national aquatic animal. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has also classified the species as endangered.