Interesting facts on Amazon River Dolphin

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• The Amazon River Dolphin is also known as the ‘boto’ or ‘pink river dolphin’ due to its distinctive colouring. It is one of only seven species of freshwater cetaceans.
• Amazon River Dolphins are only distantly related to saltwater dolphins. They have adapted to their surroundings; for example, they have larger snouts with bristle hairs on the end, specially adapted for river-bottom feeding.
• Unlike their saltwater relatives, Amazon River Dolphins have a flexible neck and can move their head left and right due to unfused cervical vertebrae. The dolphins also have a long dorsal ridge rather than a dorsal fin like other dolphin species.
• There are three subspecies of the Amazon River Dolphin present in different regions of South America. The I.g. Humboldtiana is in the Orinoco basin in Colombia and Venezuela, I.g. geoffrensis in the Amazon river system of Peru, Brazil and Ecuador and the I.g. boliviensis in Bolivia.
• The Amazon River Dolphins colouration is highly variable, affected by age and water clarity. Colours range from white/grey with a pink dorsal ridge that can be vivid pink in some individuals! Sunrays make the dolphin lose their pink pigmentation. That means that the darker the water, the pinker they will be.
• When they are excited or surprised, the dolphins will flush pinker. Just like a human blushing! Amazon River Dolphins are the only species of toothed whales to have different types of teeth in their jaw. Their back teeth are designed for crushing while their front teeth are pointed.
• The swollen part of a dolphin’s head, which is the equivalent of out forehead, is called a melon. The blowhole is normally in the centre of the melon. Inside the melon, there are small air sacs which are used to make click vibrations. The melon focuses its ‘beam’ of clicks towards an object of interest, the sound then travels back providing the dolphin with information on the size, type and speed of the object. This technique is called echolocation and is very important for hunting prey.
• Because they use echolocation, sound pollution from, for example, boats, can distort the dolphin’s navigation system. An increase in river traffic threatens the Amazon River Dolphins as they are curious animals and some may approach boats where they can be easily injured by propellers. Do you want to check out our long and rich source of tigers facts in your spare time?
• Amazon River Dolphins are the largest of the river dolphins. They can grow up to 8ft!
• They can paddle forward with one flipper and backward with the other allowing them to manoeuvre more easily during river floods. This allows them to travel into flooded areas of land, easily navigating around trees and other obstacles.
• Amazon River Dolphins are often seen swimming on their backs. This is thought to be due to their ‘chubby cheeks’, which obstruct their downward vision.
• Dolphins are very intelligent animals; the Amazon River Dolphin’s brain capacity is 40% larger than humans! They are considered the most intelligent of the river dolphins.
• Amazon River Dolphins were spared from human persecution as it was thought by indigenouse people that they had special powers, however the dolphins are increasingly being viewed as unwanted competitors for fish. Some people will try and scare or kill the dolphins to prevent them taking fish.
• Except for humans, the Amazon River Dolphin does not have many predators However, caimans, jaguars and anacondas have been known to catch dolphins on occasions.

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