Google celebrates Pakistan’s Independence Day with Indus dolphin doodle

ISLAMABAD: Search giant Google is celebrating the Independence Day of Pakistan today with a special doodle, featuring the Indus River dolphin, to highlight the country’s unique biodiversity.

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The Indus River dolphin, a toothed whale species is endemic to Pakistan. The endangered species is also called bhulan in Urdu and Sindhi and is a special sighting in coasts off Pakistan, Google noted.

The Google Doodle gave an account of the the struggle the lead to creation of an independent country on this historic day.

“Following the Indian Independence Act in 1947, Muslim Indians wanted their own independent nation-state and started the Pakistan Movement. The movement was spearheaded by the All-India Muslim League, led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah,” it read.

Blind, with a snout equipped with two rows of sharp teeth, Pakistan’s rare dolphins — especially found in Sindh — are endangered and receive global importance due to their conservation status.

It is one of the only four freshwater dolphin species in the world facing multiple threats, which include unsustainable fishing and entanglement incidents, canal stranding, and the release of untreated industrial waste into the river.

Living for millions of years in the turbid waters, the mammals eventually went blind and used echolocation, or a form of sonar, for navigation.

There was once a time when a large number of blind dolphins would be found in the Indus River. But now, its habitat has shrunk due to the construction of reservoirs, dams, and barrages for agricultural purposes.