| Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary | |
|---|---|
| Notified - 07th August, 1991 | |
 Gangetic Dolphin in VGDS | |
  | |
| Location | Sultanganj to Kahalgaon Bihar, India |
| Nearest city | Bhagalpur |
| Coordinates | 25°16′10.6″N 87°01′34.7″E / 25.269611°N 87.026306°E |
| Established | 1991 |
| Governing body | Department of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Bihar |
Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary is located in Bhagalpur District of Bihar, India. The sanctuary is a 60 kilometers stretch of the Ganges River from Sultanganj to Kahalgaon in Bhagalpur district. notified as Vikramshila Gangetic Dolphin Sanctuary in 1991, it is the protected area for the endangered Gangetic dolphins in Asia. Once found in abundance, only a few hundred remain, of which half are found here.
The Gangetic Dolphin have been declared as the national aquatic animal of India.[1] This decision was taken in the first meeting of the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) chaired by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on Monday, 5 October 2009.[2][3]
- ^ [1] Archived January 22, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "River dolphin crowned India's aquatic animal: Latest Headlines, News - India Today". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2009-10-06. Archived from the original on 2009-10-10. Retrieved 2014-01-24.
- ^ "Endangered dolphins made national aquatic animal - India Environment Portal | News, reports, documents, blogs, data, analysis on environment & development | India, South Asia". India Environment Portal. Archived from the original on 2013-12-17. Retrieved 2014-01-24.