Ganges Indian narrow-headed softshell turtle ("Chitra indica"), Indian softshell turtle ("Nilssonia gangetica"), Indian peacock softshell turtle ("N. hurum") and Cantor's giant softshell turtle ("Pelochelys cantorii"; only in the lowermost section of Ganges basin). Most of these are seriously threatened. The river's most famed fauna is the freshwater Ganges river dolphin ("Platanista gangetica gangetica"), which has been declared India's national aquatic animal. This dolphin used to exist in large schools near to urban centres in both the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers, but is now seriously threatened by pollution and dam construction. Their numbers have now dwindled to a quarter of their numbers
Endangered Species Act of 1969 passed prior to the 1969 act, and set up a list of species native to the United States that qualified as endangered. The animals on this list were then afforded certain protections from the National Wildlife Refuge System. For example, the Endangered Species Preservation Act was in part dedicated to raising awareness of endangered species of birds like the peregrine falcon, and to "conserve, protect, restore, and propagate certain species of native fish and wildlife". Despite these protections, however, researchers found that the act was insufficient. This led to the passage of the Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1969. The