The Pink Dolphin

THE PINK DOLPHIN

The Pink Dolphin lives in the Amazon Rainforest. It is usually found in the tributaries and main rivers of the Orinoco River systems in South America. This animal can stay summerged up to fifteen minutes in the rivers. Males sleep just below the surface and they come up to breathe as the reflex. The Pink Dolphin's body has adapted to the rivers of the Amazon.

The Pink Dolphin looks almost like the gray dolphin, but they have differences. It measures 2.5 to 3 meters long. Although males are generally larger. The color of its body is pale pink.
Instead of having a dorsal fin like the gray dolphin, it has a hump on its back. The Pink Dolphin's tale is bigger and it has 2 flippers that look like big leaves. The Pink Dolphin's neck is kind of long and his head has a little hump in the forehead. His beak is long and has tiny hairs on top. This animal has tiny eyes. The Pink Dolphin can turn its head 180 degrees, all the way around since it has an unfused vertebrae. It weighs approximately 90 kilograms. The Pink Dolphin got its amazing pink color from the kind of water it lives in, and the kind of food it eats.

The Pink Dolphins eat a large quantity of food per day. They don't like to eat alone, therefore when they find a school of fish; they make a loud sound to call their pod. The pods or
groups may dive below a school of fish and bring them to the surface. The kinds of fish they eat are crustaceans, catfish, and small fresh water fishes. During the night they hunt zooplankton. Almost all of the Pink Dolphin's adaptations help them find food.

The Pink Dolphin does not have many adaptations. During the years it developed a long beak to get it's prey. Its small eyes are also an adaptation; it helps the animal see better in the water. Their flexible bodies help them swim faster and get more food. These dolphins can swim at a speed of up to 20 miles per hour. Some of the Pink Dolphin's adaptations can help him protect it self.The Pink Dolphin does not have many enemies, so it has few ways to protect it self. One of the ways it protects it self is by staying with its pod or group. Another ways would be making
squeaking sounds to call its pod. If a Pink Dolphin is alone, it will use it's long beak to protect it self. This animal also uses his flippers for protection and also for mating.

The Pink Dolphin's sexual maturity age is unknown, but it does have a size when it is sexually mature. Males are 2 meters long when they are sexually mature, but females 1.7 meters when they are sexually mature. The mating season of the Pink Dolphins varies, but it is usually at the end of summer. Courtship rituals include lots of surfacing, breaching, flipper contact, and vocalizations. When they start mating, they hold onto each other with their flippers. Then fertilization takes place.
Something strange is that same sex dolphins can reproduce. The Pink Dolphin's gestation period is from 9-12 months. The calf's lactation period lasts 18-20 months. This means the calf drinks
milks from its mother from 18-20 months. Usually the Pink Dolphin that gives birth to the calf takes care of it with help of other dolphins from its pod. The mother raises and protects the calf for 1-3 years.

The calf's are protected a lot by their mother and by the mother's pod. They hide the calf's in their side to protect them. The mother covers with her body the calf. As the calf starts to get older, it leaves its mother, and gets a pod or group about the same age. With this group it protects it self from enemies.

The Pink Dolphin is a very nice and friendly animal. The only enemy it has is humans. Although the Pink Dolphin has 40% more brain capacity than humans do, it still gets killed and hurt by them.The Pink Dolphin is endangered, because of humans. Humans are destroying the South American Tropical Rainforest. They are also dumping chemicals on the rivers. Another reason is that they get trapped in fishnets accidentally. Humans are killing and making a beautiful species extinct. To stop this they are trying to do captive breeding programs, but a Pink Dolphin only survives 4 hours outside of the waters.

The Pink Dolphin is an amazing mammal. It lives in the Amazon River. This animal has adapted overtime to survive. Humans endanger this animal. Humans are causing this friendly animal to become extinct, by destroying it's habitat.
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