The Amazon dolphin, also called the inia or bouto, is the largest river dolphin. Inia geoffrensis, as scientists call it, reaches 2.5 meters in length and weighs 2 centners. Light gray juveniles become lighter with age. body Amazonian dolphin full, with a thin tail and narrow muzzle. A round forehead, a slightly curved beak and small eyes are the characteristics of this species of dolphin.
The Amazonian dolphin is found in rivers and lakes Latin America. According to its distribution area, scientists divide the species into three subspecies: Inia geoffrensis geoffrensis, Inia geoffrensis boliviensis and Inia geoffrensis humboldtiana.
Amazonian dolphins live throughout the Amazon River basin, even in small rivers and lakes. They usually do not change their place of residence, except for seasonal migration. When the water level in the river drops, ini look for a deeper channel. If the river floods, the dolphins can move to the flooded plains. During the rainy season, Amazonian dolphins have the opportunity to swim from the bed of one river to the basin of another.
These dolphins do not form groups. It is quite rare to see a school of several dolphins; this happens only during breeding. Since they do not form groups, they do not have a hierarchy. Inias lead an active lifestyle both day and night. Compared to other dolphins, these swim at a slower speed, up to 3 km/h on average. Maximum speed Amazonian dolphin - 22 km/h. They can dive and stay underwater for up to 2 minutes. When swimming, inias maneuver perfectly.
Amazonian dolphins feed on small fish and can eat up to 12 kg of food per day. They eat different types fish, and the structural features of the jaw allow them to feast on turtles and crabs.
Amazonian dolphins hunt near the shore, near river mouths or near waterfalls. In these places the water is quite cloudy, and the fish does not have time to escape from the hunter. In addition, dolphins obtain food from the bottom, digging it out of the silt, and steal fish from fishing nets. Sometimes the Amazon dolphin goes hunting together with a giant otter or a tukashi dolphin. Although dolphins have good eyesight, they rely on hearing to hunt, as well as touch using the method of echolocation.
Living in the wild, Amazonian dolphins love to play and are curious about their surroundings. They do not abandon their relatives who are in trouble, for example, wounded. They are not afraid to approach boats. These dolphins can be tamed, but cannot be trained. In captivity they become aggressive, which is why they are not kept in oceanariums.
Scientists have not fully explored the nature of ini reproduction. There are only assumptions that males engage in battle for the female. After the birth of the calf, the female stays with him for a long time in shallow water, where it is easier for him to float to the surface to breathe. In addition, it is easier to get food here and there is no dangerous predators. The cub feeds on its mother's milk for up to one year, but remains with her longer, up to approximately three years. The Amazonian dolphin reaches sexual maturity at five years of age. The total lifespan of Indians is unknown; in captivity they do not survive more than 33 months.
Amazonian dolphin playing important role in the ecosystem. It is a hunter of a number of fish species, and also serves as food for black caimans, blunt-nosed sharks, and.
Humans do not hunt Amazonian dolphins. However, some fishermen kill these animals due to damage to their fishing nets. The laws of Latin American countries prohibit or restrict the capture of the Amazon dolphin. Despite environmental degradation, the number of Amazonian dolphins is not decreasing.
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 one distinctive feature a river dolphin has a 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.
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.
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 epoch, sea levels were higher, and therefore large parts of the current 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, 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 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. 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.
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.
January 9th, 2017
Do you know about this animal on our planet? Where does it live, what is it called and why is it pink. I heard this information at one time, but now seeing him in the photo again, I was still surprised and had to find out all these details again.
Let's get together then...
Photo 2. 
For some this will be a discovery, but it turns out that freshwater dolphins also exist.
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 in total.
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. By the way, one more thing
There are several species of river dolphins in South America. The largest of them wears beautiful name Amazonian inia, or buto.
The ancestors of inia - plicodontines - entered the Amazon about 15 million years ago from the Pacific Ocean. At that time, the Andes were still growing and did not form a continuous chain, so the Amazon did not flow into the Atlantic at all, but into Pacific Ocean. Modern inia is endemic to the Amazon, Orinoco, Tocantins and some of their tributaries flowing through Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Brazil and Peru.
Photo 3. 
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.
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 the 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.
Photo 13. 
According to ancient local beliefs, bouto 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.
Inia grows up to 2 meters or more in length, gaining weight over 90 kilograms. Just like the rest freshwater dolphins, female inias are usually larger than males. Among them, dolphins are known that grew up to 250 centimeters and weighed almost a hundredweight. Although the weight record (160 kilograms) still belongs to the male.
Photo 4. 
The skin color of the inia is fawn-gray, sometimes the back has a pinkish or pale blue tint. Dolphins' bellies are usually whitish. Lake individuals are often darker in color than those that prefer to stay in rivers. In addition, the color of adult individuals depends on the temperature and purity of the water, as well as geographical location. In 1974, an absolutely white female inia (albino dolphin) was caught in Venezuela and kept in an aquarium.
Photo 5. 
A distinctive feature of a river dolphin from a sea 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! The movable head makes orientation easier, and the elongated snout is convenient for examining and sniffing debris from branches on the river bottom.
Dolphins search for prey using echolocation, because in turbid water vision is of little use, and disoriented fish in such conditions become easy prey.
Photo 6. 
The animal usually swims at a speed of 3-5 km/h, but can accelerate to 18-22 km/h. Inia is found in those parts of the river where the Amazon overflows most heavily during the rainy season, flooding the surrounding igapó forests and swamps. With the onset of the dry season, the dolphin returns to the main channel of the Amazon and Orinoco, or through the preserved network of channels makes its way into deep lakes in the middle of the forest. The dolphin is too large to settle in shallow and rapid rivers. He also avoids those branches on which there are waterfalls.
Favorite foods for inia are various fish and crabs, and sometimes even small turtles. At the same time, the dolphin is not at all afraid of the most dangerous fish Amazons - the infamous piranhas. With their sharp jaws, piranhas are capable of tearing to shreds any animal caught in the water, but, sensing the approach of frost, they take flight. Dolphins easily catch piranhas and feast on them with pleasure.
Photo 7. 
Inia is active at any time of the day, although it feeds only twice a day - from 6 to 9 and from 15 to 16 hours. Interestingly, the animal almost never sleeps. It can put one of the brain hemispheres to sleep, while the other continues to work as usual. The hemispheres of the brain take turns keeping watch, giving each other a rest, and as a result the dolphin itself is awake almost around the clock. At the same time, naturalists have more than once observed dolphins that were truly asleep, stretched out along the bottom and closing their eyes.
Photo 8. 
The lines lead mainly single image life, uniting only during the mating season and raising offspring. Mating season occupies October and November for dolphins. The female carries the baby for 8-9 months. Childbirth occurs under water and lasts from 1.5 to 5 hours. The baby dolphin is born gray and with cat whiskers on its face. The length of its body is 80 centimeters and weighs up to 6 kilograms. For almost a year, the cub feeds on mother's milk, which is extremely rich in proteins and other valuable substances, but has a fat content of only 13%.
Parents and children for a long time do not separate, they can often be seen playing together in the water. A dolphin becomes an adult when it reaches a certain length. Males should grow to 200 centimeters, and females to 160-170 centimeters.
Photo 9. 
The local population has different attitudes towards inias. In some villages, the ini is revered because these intelligent animals help catch fish and scare away schools. bloodthirsty piranhas. In other places, the dolphin is treated with distrust, considering it an insidious forest spirit. In the tales of the inhabitants of the Amazon, Inia is a werewolf who can turn into a human in the dead of night. Packs of such werewolves, taking the form of men and women, stage midnight dances in the forest, trying to lure late hunters and fishermen. Local belief about magical power the dolphin is so strong that when fishermen happen to find a dead rime, they prepare a love potion from its eyes.
Until now, humans and Amazonian dolphins have managed to live together peacefully. Therefore, the number of inia is quite high, so the future of the species is not a concern. However, if Amazon pollution industrial waste continues, the dolphin may become another human victim.
Photo 10. 
Throughout human history, humans have exterminated at least 106 species of mammals. And we have domesticated only 15 species. Each of the animal species that have already disappeared and are disappearing before our eyes could become true friend and a helper to people. Dolphins are already happy to offer people their friendship and help in fishing. Docile capybaras are easily tamed. The endangered oryx was once domesticated by the ancient Egyptians - why not domesticate it again?
Photo 11. 
Humanity has already lost a lot. We could use herds sea cows in algae pastures, mammoths in taiga logging areas... But what is even more important is that all types of animals are necessary not only for humans, but also for nature. Each Living being takes its place in the Earth's ecosystems, like a microcircuit in a computer. If you remove a part from the computer, it will stop working. Live nature through our fault, she lost dozens of her “chips.” And if people don’t stop, then one day all the animals and plants on the planet will disappear, and it will turn from a beautiful blue-white ball into a gloomy lifeless desert.
Photo 12. 
The Amazonian inia is the most prosperous species among river dolphins. However, in the lists of the International Red Book it has the status of “vulnerable species”.
Compared to the rapidly declining ranges of the lake and Gangetic dolphins, the range of the inia remains stable, and determination of the number is difficult due to the inaccessibility of its habitats. Presumably it is in the tens of thousands.
However, Martin believes that there are only about 100 thousand Amazonian 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.
Population growth and anthropogenic pressure on the environment are exerting Negative influence on the ini population. Reducing the number of fish as a result of fishing is one of the problems. Hydroelectric dams both impede fish migration and separate ini populations, potentially reducing genetic diversity within subpopulations.
Deforestation in flooded areas leads to a decrease in the food supply for fish that serve as food for ini. Finally, pollution of water bodies with agricultural pesticides and heavy metals (including mercury) from gold mines has a particularly negative impact on dolphins and their food supply.
Photo 14. 
Ice has no commercial significance. Portuguese colonists had previously hunted river dolphins for lamp oil, but local residents traditionally they do not use their meat or skin. Body parts of dead frosts are used for amulets; fat is used in traditional medicine as a remedy against asthma and rheumatism.
In the folklore of the Amazon peoples, boutos appear as the reborn souls of drowned people, or as werewolves (encantado), taking the form of beautiful young men and women. In addition to dispersing piranhas, anglers use their presence to detect schools of fish.
Hoarfrost are usually caught by accident when they inadvertently get caught in fishing nets. They are also caught and destroyed by fishermen for damaging their nets and reducing their catch. Since 1988, the practice has been banned in Brazil and Bolivia and restricted in Peru, Venezuela and Colombia.
Photo 15. 
Photo 17. 
sources
The Amazon dolphin (lat. Inia geoffrensis) belongs to the family Iniidae from the suborder of Toothed whales (Odontoceti). It is also called inia. Among the Indians of the Amazon, there is a widespread belief that tipsy white tourists who decide to swim in local rivers in a drunken state regularly turn into it.
Having been in the skin of an animal for a long time, they sometimes take on human form again and then behave more culturally.
In the vicinity of the Rio Negro River, old-timers claim that they have witnessed how cunning dolphins sneak into Indian settlements on full moon nights in the guise of representative lords in white suits and hats, and return back to the river in the morning. Because of such nightly promenades, young dark-skinned women are increasingly giving birth to light-skinned babies.
This was even filmed in Brazil in 1987 Feature Film Ele, o boto (He, the Amazonian dolphin), which aroused great interest among sentimental Brazilians. In him main character flatly refused to recognize him as his son aquatic mammal and even tried to kill him. Hot brunettes For a long time they were indignant at his unworthy behavior.
Spreading
There are 2 known subspecies that live in the northern part of South America. Subspecies I.g. geofrensis is found in the Amazon and its tributaries, and I.g. humboldtiana is distributed in the Orinoco and its basin. Since 1994, previously considered as subspecies I.g. boliviensis is considered a separate species, separated from their fellows about 2.8 million years ago.
The Amazon dolphin is observed in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela. total area The area it occupies is approximately 7 million square kilometers.
During periods of heavy rainfall and subsequent floods, mammals are able to change their place of residence and migrate to areas richer in food, including flooded plains. Seasonal migrations depend on the water level in reservoirs. During drought, animals gather in the beds of deep rivers.
Behavior
Representatives of this species usually live in pairs or alone, sometimes in groups of up to 4 individuals. Most often it can be observed in natural conditions a female with her cub. During high-water floods, they prefer to hunt individually, and during periods of drought they are able to unite for joint hunting.
Unlike Amazonian dolphins, with less socialization, they have a calmer and more balanced character. As a rule, they do not show aggression towards their fellow tribesmen.
These animals are not very playful and do not like jumping into the air, but they are very curious and study with interest any objects that are unusual for them. They willingly grab fishermen's oars and rub their bodies against fishing boats, they can catch thrown sticks, and sometimes they entertain themselves with turtles like balls. They are amenable to training much worse than other related species.
Inia is a relatively slow swimmer. Its normal speed is 1.5-3 km/h, but if necessary it can swim at a speed of 14-22 km/h.
Then the tip of its snout, part of the head and the dorsal fin appear above the surface. To monitor environment dolphins put their heads above the water; young animals, unlike adults, often jump up to 1 m above the water surface. They breathe every 30-110 seconds.
Nutrition
The Indian's daily diet is very varied. It includes about 43 various fish from 19 families. The length of prey ranges from 5 to 80 cm, but the predominant prey is about 20 cm. The most common prey are cichlids, tetras and. The structure of the teeth allows them to bite through the shells of crustaceans and turtles.
Animals feed around the clock, but their peak activity is observed in the early morning and afternoon.
For more effective hunting, they are often located near waterfalls and river mouths, where it is much easier to catch fish. When the opportunity arises, small fish (Sotalia fluvialis) and (Pteronura brasiliensis) become their prey.
In captivity, Inia geoffrensis have been repeatedly observed sharing food among themselves. Whether they do this in natural habitats is unknown. Their natural enemies are black caimans (Melanosuchus niger), common sharks (Carcharhinus leucas), jaguars (Panthera onca) and (Eunectes murinus).
Reproduction
Sexual maturity in females occurs at the age of 6-7 years, when they grow to 175-180 cm. Males become sexually mature 2-3 years later, reaching a body length of more than 2 m. The mating season takes place during the dry season, when rivers become shallow and lasts about a month. Duration of mating is 3-4 hours.
Pregnancy lasts approximately 315 days, and childbirth lasts 4-5 hours. Cubs are born during floods in May or June. Newborns weigh about 8 kg and feed on mother's milk for a year. Their body length is about 80 cm. The interval between pregnancies is 2-3 years.
The bond between a mother and her child is very strong. Usually he leaves her and moves on to independent existence only after the appearance of the next offspring.
Description
The length of adult individuals is 2-2.5 m, weight 100-150 kg. Males are larger than females and some can weigh up to 207 kg. The weight of females does not exceed 154 kg.
Skin color changes with age. In young animals it is dark gray, but gradually changes to silver and pinkish. Males are painted in brighter colors. In adults, the back is dark, dark pink or even brown. Color is also affected by water temperature and geographic location.
The structure of the cervical vertebrae allows you to turn your head in different directions by 90°. Large pectoral fins remind isosceles triangles. Thanks to the long humerus bones, they have a high degree of mobility and allow the animal to easily maneuver in the thick of aquatic vegetation. The dorsal fin is relatively poorly developed, and the caudal fin is wide and triangular in shape.
The eyes are small, but provide good vision in water and air environment. There is a characteristic thickening on the head used for echolocation. The narrow, elongated muzzle ends with a beak slightly curved downwards. The front teeth are sharp and conical, while the back teeth are flat and blunt. The mouth can have from 88 to 144 teeth.
Lifespan of an Amazonian dolphin wildlife not reliably known, presumably 20-30 years. In captivity they usually do not live longer than 3 years. The exception was the male Apure, who was caught in 1975 in the waters of the Orinoco River and then lived in the Duisburg Zoo in Germany. He died of old age on October 9, 2006, at the age of almost 50, according to zoologists.
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