Rescuers rush to save pink river dolphins after 100 found dead in Brazil, experts say
Over 100 river dolphins have been found dead in the Brazilian Amazon within a one week span, according to wildlife organizations. Rescuers are rushing to save the remaining populations, but it’s far from an easy task.
The mass dying event involved more than 100 pink river dolphins and tucuxi river dolphins in Lake Tefé between Sept. 23 and 29, according to a joint news release from the World Wildlife Fund in Brazil and the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute.
Known for their distinct coloring, pink river dolphins are also called Amazon river dolphins and are found only in freshwater lakes and rivers of South America, according to the World Wildlife Fund. The species is “relatively abundant” but considered “vulnerable” in some areas due to threats of dams and water contamination.
Rescue teams are collecting carcasses, taking water samples and monitoring the remaining live dolphins, the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute said in a Sept. 29 news release posted on Instagram.
“The first effort is to remove the animals’ remains from the water, but with the large number of dead animals it became impossible,” André Coelho with the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development said in the joint release.
Rescuers hope to save some river dolphins by transferring them to other rivers, but this strategy faces several difficulties.
Other rivers need to be checked for water quality, toxins and viruses to ensure it’s safe to transfer the dolphins, Coelho said.
Rescuers say they are also “racing against time.”
The animals’ exact cause of death has not been confirmed, but experts believe it is related to the area’s dry season and high water temperatures, the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development said. In some areas, water temperatures exceeded 102 degrees Fahrenheit.
Brazil’s dry season usually peaks in October, but a “severe drought” has already affected almost 60 municipalities, wildlife experts said. Conditions as “expected to worsen” through the middle of October.
Wildlife officials said that these dolphin deaths are another sign of a “worsening climate crisis,”, per the joint release.
Reuters reported that, because of El Niño and “other factors,” the exact role of global warming in “the current Amazon drought is unclear.”
Lake Tefé is the northwestern state of Amazonas which borders Peru, Colombia and Venezuela. The lake is about 2,000 miles northwest of Rio de Janeiro.
Google Translate was used to translate the news release from Mamirauá Sustainable Development Institute.
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