Amazon Pink River Dolphin

The Amazon pink river dolphin, also known as Boto, is a fresh water dolphin endemic to the Amazon and Orinoco river basins and the upper Madeira river stretching from Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela.

They live exclusively in fresh water in the rivers of south America, and their estimate population is unknown due to insufficient data- but is assumed at the tens of thousands.
It is part of the family Iniidae, with three officially recognized subspecies- being the Amazon river dolphin, Orinoco river dolphin, and Bolivian river dolphin, and are considered Endangered due to habitat loss, over fishing, and water source poisoning.

They have also been hunted and caught for display in aquariums, though that has lessened in recent years.

It feeds on a wide variety of fishes and occasionally on other water dwelling species, such as turtles and crabs.

The males gain a much more distinct pink color as they age, and sexual dimorphism is especially evident as the males can be up to 50% bigger than the females.

They possess a melon organ, like most toothed whales- an organ designed to use bio-sonar.

They are also the largest of the worlds river dolphins, with sizes going up to 2.55 meters long and weighing up to 185 kilograms for males, and females reaching up to 2.15 meters long and weighing up to 154 kilograms.

While they are less friendly than the bottlenose dolphin, they are also reportedly less shy, with some reports of dolphins swimming up to catch fishermen's oars, rubbing against their boats, and carrying and playing with sticks, plants, and rocks.

They swim in small groups of 2-5 usually, but in some extreme cases mega-pods of 30-35 individuals were spotted- mainly during the dry season.

They have been observed to occasionally hunt along with the Tucuxi (a different type of river dolphin) and giant river otters, since they do not compete over the same foods. They hunt strategically with them, working together.