The yearly census of dolphins living in Chilika Lake’s brackish water bodies began on Wednesday. The yearly workout began at 6 a.m. and will last until 2 p.m.
According to official sources, 18 teams comprised of senior officials from the State Forest Department and wildlife specialists will perform the dolphin census in Chilika. Each team has had three to six individuals assigned to it.
Local volunteers and Motor Boat Association members are also taking part in the yearly drill, which will last three days.
To enable smooth census work, boat ferrying in the lake was forbidden until 2 p.m. today. The annual exercise is carried out using photographs, contemporary technologies such as GPS monitoring, and other conventional ways.
Wildlife scientists are using binoculars to follow the movement of dolphins for the yearly census of dolphins in Chilika Lake’s brackish water basins.
“The entire Chilika lagoon has been separated into three sectors—outer and inner Chilika, northern and southern zones—for the experts’ team to conduct a complete census of the Irrawaddy dolphins,” stated Ramaswami P, DFO, Chilika Lake.
