People are just fond of the word dolphins and always look out for these friendly creatures whenever they are into the sea. But, did you know that there are certain species thriving in the rivers? Might be quite amazing right? But, it is true and this category belongs to the Pink Dolphins. They are also well known in different names Boutu, Boto or even Amazon River dolphins. This name was originated from the place they live in, the Amazon River.

Inia Geoffrensis is the scientific name given to the Pink Dolphins who thrive in the Amazon area. They are categorized into the genus Inea which belongs to the family Platanistoidea.

Pink dolphins are much different from the dolphins you usually see when you are into the sea or ocean. You can also tell that they are adapted to their environment and they are very distantly in relation to the ones you see in the ocean.

There are five species of the river dolphins known till date and among them, the Amazon pink dolphins are referred to as the most intelligent among all. It has also been stated that the brain capacity of these species are 50% greater when compared with that of the humans.

Apart from the Amazon River, the pink dolphins can be a common sight along the upper Madeira River and also the Orinoco basins. As the name suggests, pink dolphins are mostly seen in pink colour even though other colour variations are also very well known including brown, light gray or even light pink.

It is simply amazing and yet shocking the among the five river dolphins known, except this variety the other four species are nearing extinction or can be said as they are extinct. On the other hand, these dolphins, pink in colour are known to constitute the greatest population among their own class.

Yet another surprising fact is that pink river dolphins are the most endangered species among the cetaceans known in the world. IUCN or the International Union for the Conservation of Nature listed them among the “vulnerable species-threatened” category. It was only recently they altered their section to another category, “endangered species-threatened”. This is an awful situation as we you can never find such friendly creatures anywhere else and they are facing extinction and we are just helpless other than to just sit and watch!

The reason for their extinction is still on and the finding states that the destruction of Amazon basin has resulted in the demolition of its habitat thus leading to their extinction. Use of mercury in the gold mining process has also resulted in the death of a huge number of dolphins as the level of contaminants in mercury is too high for these social creatures to tolerate.

Yet another reason pointed out was the immense traffic in the Amazon basin. With such crowd, noise and disturbance of the nature’s balance makes them move here and there. Thus they get hit by sharp propellers or vessels leading to their death. Some other reasons include sound pollution; destruction of their habitat and even the destruction of their progeny are some of the greatest faults from our side! It is our duty to save nature and it is high time we do our part in protecting these cute little pink dolphins!

Author Bio: I am basically a graduate at the University of Hamburg and you can get awesome articles and valid information from the ones which I submit specially for you to take a look at. Check out Pink Images, Pink Graphics or Pink Pictures.

Category: Pets
Keywords: pink dolphins, pink, friendly, mammals, humans, extinction