Pink Dolphin Facts

The Amazon river dolphin, also known as the pink dolphin, is a freshwater dolphin species endemic to the South American river system. The scientific name of this species is Inia geoffrensis. As of now, there are three recognized subspecies of the pink dolphin - the I. g. geoffrensis found in Amazon and Araguaia/Tocantins basin, I. g. boliviensis found in the Amazon basin, and the I. g. humboldtiana found in Orinoco basin.

Pink Dolphin Facts and Information

Appearance: This species of dolphins is known as the pink dolphin owing to their pale pink color. On an average, they can grow on to attain a length of 2.5 to 3 meters, and weigh up to 200 lb. The males in this species are relatively larger than their female counterparts. In terms of appearance, the pink dolphins do resemble the Gray dolphins to a significant extent, but they are bigger in size as compared to the later.

Habitat: The river system in which the pink dolphin population flourishes include the Orinoco river, Amazon river, Araguaia river and the Tocantins river. The range of this beautiful animal spans over Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. The Amazon river system itself spans over an area of 2,720,000 sq miles, thus providing the pink dolphins with a vast region to inhabit. When the tropical rain forests get flooded due to the increase in volume of the Amazon river water, these dolphins are also seen swimming among the trees.

Diet: Unlike the dolphins found in the ocean water, these river dolphins have adapted themselves to the tropical rivers of South America. Their specially designed frontal teeth help them to catch their prey with immense ease. Their diet predominantly consists of crabs, crustaceans, catfish, and at times, even small turtles and piranhas.

Some Little-known Facts about the Pink Dolphin

• The pink dolphin species was first described by the French zoologist, Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, in 1817.
• This species is also known by several other names, most prominent ones being Boto Vermelho, Boto Cor-de-Rosa, Pink Freshwater Dolphin and Pink Porpoise.
• Owing to its unique neck vertebrae, the pink dolphin has the ability to turn a whole 180 degrees with immense ease.
• Unlike the other dolphin species which have a dorsal fin, the pink dolphin has a hump on its back.
• With a brain which is 40 percent larger than that of humans, the pink dolphin is considered to be the most intelligent among the five river dolphin species.

The pink dolphin has been enlisted as an Endangered Species by the International Union for Conservation of the Nature (IUCN). This has come as a major blow for the environmentalists the world over, considering that it was the only river dolphin species which was found in abundance till sometime back, while other four species had already been declared as functionally extinct. The main factors responsible for the decrease in pink dolphin population include over fishing, river pollution and habitat loss. If some concrete conservation measures are not implemented soon, this dolphin will also meet the same fate as the other freshwater dolphins.