The Bolivian river dolphin has been acknowledged as a separate species to the more widely-known Amazon River dolphin,
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| The Bolivian river dolphin has been adopted by the Bolivian government as the country's conservation symbol |
The formal announcement was made at a conservation workshop in Santa Cruz de la Sierra in Bolivia.
The Bolivian dolphin (Inia boliviensis) was immediately adopted by the Bolivian government as a symbol of the country's conservation efforts.
The
Bolivian species is smaller and a lighter grey in colour than the other
species and has more teeth. It lives only in the Bolivian Amazon and is
isolated from the other Amazon River dolphins, separated by a series of
18 rapids between Bolivia and Brazil.
The boto or Amazon pink river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis)
lives exclusively in the freshwater river systems of the Amazon and
Orinoco Rivers. The largest of all river dolphins, botos vary from grey
to pink and can even change colour, becoming pinker if very active.
Unusually
for a dolphin, they have flexible necks and can turn their heads from
side to side, weaving between the branches of flooded forests during
the wet season.
Both species are hailed as
important indicator species for the health of the entire river
ecosystem, but are under serious threat from pollution and fisheries.
The adoption of the new species was welcomed by
the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS) which warned of the
threats facing endangered dolphins.
The world's
leading Amazon river dolphin specialist, Fernando Trujillo, who is a
researcher funded by the WDCS, said: "River dolphins are amongst the
most endangered of all whale and dolphin species. The pressures on them
are immense, as was highlighted by the recent news of the extinction of
the baiji in Asia. Urgent action is needed if we are to prevent Amazon
River dolphins from suffering the same fate."
The
river dolphin is coming increasing pressure from unsustainable
fisheries, damming, deforestation, pollution, increased shipping and
gold mining. Fishermen also catch and kill up to 1,500 dolphins
annually for use as bait.
Trujillo completed the
first ever survey of river dolphins left in the Orinoco and Amazon
River basins and in seven expeditions in five countries, 3,188 dolphins
were sighted.
The survey forms the basis of a
conservation plan and 18 researchers across South America have been
recruited and trained as part of the region's first network of dolphin
scientists.
Trujillo said: "The meeting in Bolivia
is a crucial step forward in the conservation and protection of one of
the world's last remaining river dolphin species, helping to reverse
the decline of these highly vulnerable species globally."
Copyright: Telegraph
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