Pink River Dolphins
Posted by Shari Horowitz in Tropical Fish Hobbyist Blog on October 4, 2011 at 7:14 am
By David E. Boruchowitz
Pink river dolphin. Photograph by Mark Carwardine.
People love dolphins, and it often seems as if they love us, too. The Amazonian ecosystem is home to beautiful freshwater stingrays descended from Pacific marine rays that became trapped when the Amazon’s flow to the Pacific ended. It also houses freshwater dolphins—pink ones!
These rare animals are odd looking, and obviously playful, as you’ll see in the incredible photos of a dolphin showing off for a wildlife photographer:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2044464/Rare-Amazon-pink-river-dolphins-create-splash-photographers-Brazil.html?ito=feeds-newsxml
One of the photographer’s observations was that the dolphin urinated while on its back, and he suggests that this may be to avoid the attentions of the infamous candirú, a parasitic catfish that is known to enter the urethra of mammals, including humans, homing in on a urine stream.
Even visitors to the Amazon may not see these remote-dwelling animals, especially up close. This photo sequence brings us face to face with a magnificent aquatic creature and reminds us of the beauty and diversity of the Amazon.
Tags: Amazon, aquatic photography, endangered species, Pink river dolphin
