Amazon River Dolphin

(INIA GEOFFRENSIS)

INFORMATION AND CHARACTERISTICS.

Other common names of this dolphin are Boto, bufeo and pink river dolphin. Among the river
dolphins, this species is the largest, best known, most researched and with the largest population.
There are three subspecies of Amazon river dolphin:
– Inia geoffrensis geoffrensis.*
– Inia geoffrensis humboldtiana.
– Inia geoffrensis boliviensis.

* Recently (2014) this subspecies was split from Inia geoffrensis and defined as an independent
species with the name Araguaian River dolphin as mitochondrial studies determined that they are
indeed different species.

HOW DO THEY LOOK? PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS.

Morphology.
It is a robust dolphin with a very long snout easily distinguishable. It has a bulbous forehead due
to a pronounced melon, chubby cheeks, small eyes and a remarkably flexible neck since its
vertebrae are not fused. The pectoral flippers are large and have a triangle shape. He has a
heterodont denture since his teeth are conical in the front of the jaw while the back pieces have a
flange.

Order: Cetacea
Superfamily: Inioidea
Family: Iniidae
Genus: Inia

Weight and size.

Skin Coloration.
The most distinctive feature of this dolphin is the pink color that it acquires with age. The lower
part of the body is usually clearer, and some individuals have gray patches.

Distinctive characteristic.
It is the only species of cetacean with heterodont dentition, and its dorsal fin is so small that it
rather looks like a triangular crest.
Amazon River Dolphin – Inia Geoffrensis.

WHERE DO THEY LIVE? DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT.

The Amazon River dolphin inhabits only the freshwater systems of South America. Its
distribution includes the basins of the Amazon and Orinoco rivers and the tributaries of these
rivers in Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela. However, each subspecies
lives in defined areas: I. g. Geoffrensis thrives in the Amazon and Araguaia river basins except
for the upper Teotonio rapids in the Madeira river basin in Bolivia. I.g. Boliviensis inhabits
above the Teotonio rapids in the basin of the Amazon River and, I. g. Humboldtiana dwells in
the basin of the Orinoco River.

The Amazon River dolphin can live in areas of slow movement, in deep water channels, in
flooded forests, in confluences where clear waters and sewage mix, in narrow channels and
possibly under waterfalls and rapids.

WHAT DO THEY EAT? DIET AND EATING HABITS.

The Amazon pink dolphin consumes a variety of prey more diverse than other species of
dolphins. Fish, crabs and small turtles are part of the diet of this cetacean that regularly hunts
alone and consumes 2.5 percent of its total weight each day.

The diet of these dolphins includes 43 species of fish. Their favorite fish belong to the families
Sciaenidae, Cichlidae, and the one of the feared piranhas, Serrasalmidae.
It is a natural hunter. Mostly active during the day, it knows that under the waterfalls or at the
mouths of the rivers, it is easier to catch the fish that pass through the currents. Sometimes it
looks for food at the riverbed. The hard shells of turtles do not deter this dolphin from eating
these reptiles because for such prey it has a potent and long “snout” that helps break the hard
parts.

Sometimes it associates with the giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) or the tucuxi (Sotalia
fluviatilis) to hunt in a coordinated way and share the food.

HOW DO THEY BEHAVE? BEHAVIOR

Observations concluded that the Amazon River dolphin moves slowly. Its speed while
swimming is only 1.5 to 3.2 kilometers per hour, but it has occasional bursts reaching up to 14 to
22 kilometers per hour.

It is not as sociable as the oceanic dolphins since it usually travels in groups of 2 or 3 individuals,
mostly mothers with a calf. It is, therefore, a lone dolphin. The larger groups, with 12 to 15
members, are temporal associations with the purpose of feeding or mating.

It is somewhat shy with humans, but sometimes it shows curiosity. It is also very playful, and it
has been seen pulling the aquatic grass and throwing pieces of wood. Curiously, at times its food
is also its friend: it usually plays with fish and turtles.

It uses echolocation to perceive what is in its environment and capture prey. The “clicks” are the
basis of their communication and reach from 16 to 170 kilohertz.
HOW DO THEY REPRODUCE? MATING AND REPRODUCTION.

Scientists believe that this species is monogamous, but after noticing the male’s aggressiveness
during mating and the multiple scars on its body, they began considering the idea of polygamy
because this is the evidence of a possible competition for females.

Males and females reach sexual maturity at about five years of age or when the former is already
about 2 meters in length, and the latter is between 1.60 and 1.75 meters. When a male finds a
receptive female, he communicates his mating intentions by biting the female’s flippers.

11 months after mating, a single offspring is born between May and July measuring about 0.8
meters long. The time between each birth can last up to 5 years.

WHAT IS THEIR CONSERVATION STATUS? THREATS AND CONSERVATION.

Conservation Status: Data Deficient.

The fact that the pink dolphin has a “Data Deficient” conservation status on the Red List of the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature entails a danger not completely unknown, but
that makes difficult to implement conservation strategies. It is evident that the species faces a
serious problem for survival in its natural habitat and until 2011 had a classification as a
vulnerable species.

Their principal anthropogenic threats are:

– Overfishing.
This practice reduces the availability of food for the species.

– Dam construction.
The development of hydroelectric dams in the river, alter the conditions of their habitat
separating populations which reduce the availability of mating partners and the genetic diversity.

– Uncontrolled logging.
When logging for converting the forests into agricultural land, the number of animals consuming
the products of the trees decreases, and the amount of food for the Boto reduces in consequence.

– River traffic.
Excessive boat traffic causes collisions with these dolphins where the propellers cause them
serious injuries.

– Habitat pollution.
The increasing contamination of the river brings all kind of problems to these dolphins and
reduces their chances to survival drastically.

In their natural habitat, alligators, jaguars, anacondas and Bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) are
their major threats. In Brazil, Peru, Venezuela, Colombia and Bolivia, there are laws to protect
this species. Since 1986, the Cetacean Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission has
been working to protect and design conservation strategies for all endangered river dolphins.