Bhubaneswar: The authorities will begin its annual monitoring and enumeration of Irrawaddy dolphins ( Orcaella brevirostris) in the Chilika lake on February 8 and 9.

The last census revealed 134 dolphins, a Schedule-I animal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, during the 2017 census.

The Chilika Development Authority (CDA) and the forest department will conduct the census alongside research scholars and experts. The lake will be divided into 18 sectors to smoothly monitor the dolphins. "The enumeration holds significance as we have also undertaken a massive eviction drive in the lake. We will also monitor the dolphins' habitat pattern and other details. We are hopeful of finding dolphins at places where they were not noticed before," said the development authority's additional chief executive Sasmita Lenka.

Statistics suggest that 89 Irrawaddy dolphins were found in the lake in 2003. That figure gradually increased to 134 in 2017. Irrawaddy dolphins are a vulnerable species under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of threatened animals. Last August, forest officials spotted dolphins near Rambha in Ganjam district after more than three decades.

Earlier, the development authority had proposed to set up two rescue and rehabilitation centres for the dolphins in the lake. These would have treatment rooms and water body enclosures for rescued dolphins. It has also proposed a study of the dolphins' behaviour and their migration through scientific methods. Alongside monitoring the dolphins, the teams will also monitor migratory birds in the lake.