The Indus river dolphin is one of the world's rarest mammals and the second most endangered freshwater river dolphin. They are also an endangered species. It is one of the flagship species, which is only found in Pakistan and is an indicator of the biological health of the aquatic and terrestrial environment adjoining the Indus River.
However, the population of this species has gradually declined because of various factors, including water pollution, poaching, fragmentation of habitat due to barrages, and dolphin strandings in the irrigation canals. Now approximately 2,000 specimens of this species exist in a small fraction of their former range, the lower reaches of the Indus River in Pakistan.
