Dolphins amaze us with their intelligence and attract us with inexplicable magnetism. Let's learn a little more about Amazonian dolphins.
Adult Amazonian dolphins (inii) sometimes reach 2.5 m in length, and their body weight can reach up to 207 kg. Only males can boast of such significant dimensions; females, in turn, are much more graceful. You can determine the age of an individual by its color: young dolphins are straw-gray, while a pink or light blue tint appears in older age.
The Indian's beak is slightly curved and bristly. The structure of the visual organ gives reason to believe that the ini's eye is better adapted to terrestrial vision. The head of this species has the ability to rotate 90°. Amazonian dolphins are incredibly agile thanks to special structure pectoral fins.
Dolphins occupy the entire Amazon River basin. Mammals can be found even in small rivers and lakes. They are assigned permanent place residence. The only exception is seasonal migration.
All attempts to tame Amazonian dolphins have been successful; individuals are willing to make contact. Unfortunately, in captivity, ini live up to a maximum of 3 years. Individuals die before reaching sexual maturity, which makes it impossible for them to reproduce.
It is unlikely that you will be able to meet a pink dolphin in the aquarium. It is not possible to train them; moreover, some individuals show aggression after a long stay in captivity.
The diet of ini is varied. One individual needs at least 9-12 kg of fish per day. Preference is given to croakers, cichlids, characins and piranhas. Strong teeth easily cope with the shell of the Amazon river turtles and crabs. Meal times are often between 6-9 am and 3-4 pm. Dolphins hunt on the shore, at river mouths, near waterfalls, at the confluence of two rivers, and in muddy waters.
There are frequent cases of dolphins stealing fish from fishing nets. Underwater hunting is carried out due to good hearing, touch and echolocation.
Inias rarely gather in groups. They can often be found singly or in pairs. Groups consist of no more than 6 individuals. Large flocks They gather only in places where food accumulates and during the breeding season. Activity occurs around the clock. The species is characterized aggressive behavior, as evidenced by a large number of injuries on the body. Fights between dolphins often result in death.
Black caimans, sharks, jaguars and anacondas are dangerous to the pink dolphin, which serves as food for these animals. Man is not dangerous to the Indians, except for fishermen who are angry because of fish nets torn by dolphins.
There is not enough information about reproduction. There is speculation about polygamy in pink dolphins. Males compete for the female through fierce battles. The duration of pregnancy is 11 months. Cubs are born in May-June.
Too close proximity to people led to the practical extinction of the species. The reason for this was water pollution, lack of food, hydroelectric dams, and fishing nets.
In countries Latin America It is illegal to capture Amazonian dolphins.
Bouto reaches almost two and a half meters in length and weighs about 200 kilograms. His distinctive feature- a long, leathery snout, similar to a beak or sting, which is so convenient for digging out crustaceans from the bottom silt and catching fish rushing about in a tangle of branches.
Why do dolphins, the original inhabitants of the salty sea waters, moved to fresh water bodies? Healy Hamilton, a biologist at the California Academy of Sciences, explains that about 15 million years ago, during the Miocene era, sea levels were higher, so large parts of what is now South America were under thick salt water. Hamilton's hypothesis is that over time, the sea gradually retreated to modern boundaries, and some of the dolphins remained in their former territories. And over millions of years in the Amazon basin they turned into completely amazing creatures, not much like everyone’s favorite movie hero Flipper.
River dolphins are not only found in the Amazon - they can also be found in the Indian Ganges, in the Pakistani Indus and in the waters of the Rio de La Plata between Argentina and Uruguay. There are four species of river dolphins, and the bouto is the largest of them.
Until recently, there were five species of river dolphins. However, already at the beginning of this century, dolphins from the Chinese Yangtze River were completely destroyed - since 2002, scientists have not been able to detect them.
According to Hamilton, at first glance everything freshwater dolphins seem the same - but their four genera belong to three different families. According to DNA tests, river dolphins earlier marine ones separated from their common ancestors, the ancestors of cetaceans, in at least three cases - first in India, then in China and South America. The evolution of each of the families proceeded independently and in parallel - geographically isolated and genetically different kinds, adapting to similar conditions, eventually acquired similar characteristics.
Every spring gives Amazonian dolphins a chance to escape their narrow borders. river bed and remember the ancient boundless homeland.
Tony Martin from the University of Kent in England studies dolphins in nature reserve Mamirahua has been in western Brazil for 16 years. Here, two tributaries of the Amazon flood thousands of square kilometers of jungle for six months, turning it into a huge lake under tree cover.
Martin and his Brazilian colleague Vera da Silva discovered that female dolphins were swimming deeper into the forest, perhaps hiding from the aggressive bright pink males. Females are mostly gray in color; But the males, Martin and da Silva believe, acquired their cute pink color as a result of multiple wounds.
Pink color is not the only way to attract a female. Sometimes the boat takes a bunch of plants or a piece of wood in its beak, begins to circle and hit the water with its prey. Locals For a long time they thought that this was just a game, until Martin discovered: only males hold objects in their mouths - and only in the presence of females.
Martin believes that there are only about 100 thousand Amazon dolphins left in the wild, and they are great danger. In seven years, the population from the Mamiraua reserve has halved. Fishermen use dolphin meat as bait for catfish, and often the bouto accidentally gets caught in the net and suffocates, unable to surface.
Pink dolphin or or or
The most interesting of all the mammals of the Amazon River is the pink dolphin (Amazonian inia or bouto). There are many legends about this amazing animal. But one of the most popular is the story of the transformation of dolphins into handsome men seducing local girls. This dolphin is stunningly beautiful and absolutely pink, from the tip of its nose to the tip of its tail! Albinism is a genetic trait, but it is not yet clear where the animal might have inherited it.
The weight of a newborn is 7 kg, and an adult dolphin weighs from 85 to 160 kg. The baby is born about 80 cm long and grows up to 2.5 m. Dolphins feed on fish and crabs.
Inias live alone or in small flocks. They are active both day and night.
When exhaling, dolphins release small fountains. They swim at a speed of 3-4 km/h, and can accelerate to a maximum speed of 18.5 km/h. Before breathing stops or slows down. The dolphin feeds on fish, which it grabs with its front teeth, transferring to its back, stronger teeth, and the head of the fish is swallowed first. If the dolphin's prey becomes big fish, then it is first torn into pieces.
Inias can produce screams, squeals, threat signals, barking, whimpering, and echolocation clicking. But whistling is not in their vocabulary.
Another distinctive feature of the river dolphin is its long, leathery snout, similar to a beak or sting. They are very convenient for digging out crustaceans from the bottom silt and catching fish. The amazing structure of the cervical vertebrae, which do not fuse with each other, gives them the ability to turn their head at an angle of 90 degrees relative to the body! Dolphins search for prey using echolocation, because muddy water vision is of little use, and disoriented fish in such conditions become easy prey.
In the wild, these dolphins are very curious and playful, but very aggressive, so it is very rare to see this amazing creature in aquariums.
Unfortunately, even the mystical pink dolphin cannot protect itself from numerous hunters who destroy animals for money. The genitals of these dolphins are considered an aphrodisiac, and the fight to preserve this species continues constantly.
Amazonian dolphins are the most major representatives river dolphins. They grow up to 3 meters in length and their weight can reach 200 kilograms. This freshwater whale also never leaves rivers and rarely moves to new places. In murky water, inia easily navigates using echolocation, as well as excellent hearing and touch.
There are 3 subspecies of Indians, each of which has its own habitat. But they are all common in the Amazon River basin and adjacent to it river system(rivers and reservoirs of Brazil, Bolivia, Northern Peru, Venezuela, etc.)
Amazonian dolphins differ from their marine relatives in their speed of movement and the shape of their faces. They swim slowly but maneuverably. Their normal speed is about 3 km/h, and their maximum speed can reach 14-22 km/h.
Inii are not too fast, but very maneuverable These dolphins have a narrow and elongated snout, which ends in a slightly curved beak with sparse short bristles. Each jaw is equipped with 52-66 sharp teeth. The body is plump, thinning towards the tail. The length of adult males does not exceed 3 meters. Females are smaller than males.
Narrow and elongated muzzle 
Sharp teeth 
Dense body tapering towards the tail The color of frost changes with age. Juveniles are greyish in color with a white belly. As they mature, they begin to take on a pinkish or pale blue hue.
Grayish color 
Gray-pink color River dolphins have well-developed vision, but in turbid water it is of little use. Therefore, they rely on hearing, touch and echolocation to hunt. Amazonian dolphins are very voracious. They can eat up to 12 kilograms of fish per day. Sometimes inias engage in “digging,” looking for buried fish or crabs in the mud. They are not averse to feasting on our loved ones. During the hunt, these dolphins can team up with giant otters or toucan dolphins. They work together to drive schools of fish into a trap and attack them.
Sometimes they make a living by “stealing”, approaching fishing nets and eating the caught fish. As a result, the fishermen disliked them. At one time, people caught and destroyed these dolphins because they spoiled nets and reduced the catch. But since 1988, this practice has been prohibited.
The breeding season for Amazonian dolphins occurs during the rainy season - in April-May. And after 11 months, a baby is born, weighing about 7 kilograms and reaching 75-80 centimeters in length. At this time (May-July) rivers overflow their banks and flood the plains. Females with cubs prefer to stay in these very places, since there is more food there, few predators, and there is less aggression from males. The lactation period (milk feeding) lasts up to a year. The cub can stay with its mother for up to 3 years.
Most often, inias live alone or in pairs (female with cub). Small groups are very rare, except during the breeding season.
These dolphins are very curious and love to play, but they are difficult to train. They also take care of their wounded relatives.
Amazonian dolphins are difficult to train 
Inias play a significant role in the Amazon ecosystem. They are food for caimans, blunt-nosed sharks, jaguars, anacondas. In turn, river dolphins regulate the numbers of other fish species.
Bright pink spots flash among the trees, slide between the branches, and gracefully bend around trunks swollen with water. These are Amazonian river dolphins frolicking in the flooded jungle, they are also boutos (for the locals) or inii ( Inia geoffrensis). The Amazon, having overflowed during the rainy season, flooded the jungle in its upper reaches, thus giving the dolphins a chance for real forest hunting. Why did dolphins, the original inhabitants of salty sea waters, move to fresh water bodies? Healy Hamilton, a biologist at the California Academy of Sciences, explains that about 15 million years ago, during the Miocene era, sea levels were higher, leaving large parts of what is now South America under saltwater. Hamilton's hypothesis is that over time, the sea gradually retreated to modern boundaries, and some of the dolphins remained in their former territories. And over millions of years in the Amazon, they turned into absolutely amazing creatures, not much like everyone’s favorite movie character Flipper.
Pink color is not the only way to attract a female. Sometimes the bowto takes a bunch of plants or a piece of wood in its beak, begins to circle and hit the water with its prey. Local residents thought for a long time that this was just a game, until Martin discovered: only males hold objects in their mouths - and only in the presence of females.Bouto reaches almost two and a half meters in length and weighs about 200 kilograms. Its distinctive feature is a long, leathery snout, similar to a beak or sting, which is so convenient for digging out crustaceans from bottom silt and catching fish darting in a tangle of branches. The cervical vertebrae of Amazonian dolphins do not fuse together, and therefore their heads can rotate at an angle of 90 degrees to the body - a very useful ability for navigating among trees. Another distinctive feature of river dolphins is their small eyes: in turbid water, vision is of little use anyway, and it is easier to search for prey using echolocation. River dolphins are not only found in the Amazon; they can also be found in the Indian Ganges, the Pakistani Indus and in the waters of the Rio de La Plata between Argentina and Uruguay. There are four species of river dolphins, and the bouto is the largest of them. Until recently, there were five species of river dolphins. However, already at the beginning of this century, dolphins from the Chinese Yangtze River were completely destroyed - since 2002, scientists have not been able to detect them. According to Hamilton, at first glance, all freshwater dolphins appear to be the same, but their four genera belong to three different families. Judging by DNA tests, river dolphins diverged earlier than sea dolphins from their common ancestors, the ancestors of cetaceans, in at least three cases - first in India, then in China and South America. The evolution of each of the families proceeded independently and in parallel - geographically isolated and genetically different species, adapting to similar conditions, eventually acquired similar characteristics. Every spring gives Amazonian dolphins a chance to leave the narrow confines of the river bed and remember their ancient, vast homeland. Tony Martin from the University of Kent in England has been studying dolphins in the Mamirahua Nature Reserve in western Brazil for 16 years. Here, two tributaries of the Amazon flood thousands of square kilometers of jungle for six months, turning it into a huge lake under tree cover. Martin and his Brazilian colleague Vera da Silva discovered that female dolphins were swimming deeper into the forest, perhaps to hide from the aggressive bright pink males. Females are mostly gray in color; But the males, Martin and da Silva believe, acquired their cute pink color as a result of multiple wounds. “On large males there is no living space from scars,” says Martin. “They fight furiously for life and death: they bite off each other’s jaws, tails, fins, and tear apart each other’s blowholes.” There are few bright pink males, but they are the ones who have the greatest success with females - at least during mating season, when the water returns to the river bed and the females are forced to swim back from the deep jungle. Pink color is not the only way to attract a female. Sometimes the bowto takes a bunch of plants or a piece of wood in its beak, begins to circle and hit the water with its prey. Local residents thought for a long time that this was just a game, until Martin discovered: only males hold objects in their mouths - and only in the presence of females. In addition, during this demonstration, the likelihood of a fight among males increases 40 times. It turns out that both, trying to impress their friends, show off items that they generally don’t need. “It’s like some guy showing off his Ferrari,” Martin explains. By the way, besides dolphins, only monkeys and humans use objects to show off. Martin believes that there are only about 100 thousand Amazon dolphins left in the wild, and they are in great danger. In seven years, the population from the Mamiraua reserve has halved. Fishermen use dolphin meat as bait for catfish, and often the bouto accidentally gets caught in the net and suffocates, unable to surface. According to ancient local beliefs, buto is magical creature, capable of changing its appearance. Sometimes it comes out of the river in the form of a person to lure gullible men and women into a fabulous underwater kingdom. They even say that dolphins wear hats so that their blowholes and onion-like heads are not visible. But, alas, no less rich Chinese myths did not help the white dolphins of the Yangtze. How to save the buto from the fate of their relatives?
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