Pink Dolphin Physical Description
Size: 2.5 to 3 meters (8.25 ft to 9.75 ft) and 90 kilograms (200 lbs.).
Males are generally larger.
Habitat and Distribution: Tributaries and main rivers of the Orinoco River systems of South America. They tend to gather at confluences of rivers.
Reproduction: Pink Dolphin Calves can be born between July and September, but in front of Dolphin Corners, our lodge becomes a nursery for calves during December-February. Calves are born about 75 cm (30 in.) long, and weighing just over 1 kg. (2.2 lbs.) after a gestation period believed to be nine to twelve months. Sexual maturity in males is reached when they are about two meters (7 ft.) long, and females at 1.7 meter (5.5 ft.) at an unknown age
Diet: Crustaceans, catfish and small fresh water fish. A unique characteristic of Inia geoffrensis is the unfused vertebrae in its neck, which allows for the 180-degree head turn, giving them greater flexibility in floodplain forests, grassland, tributaries and shallow waters. Pink Dolphin have a hump on their back instead of a dorsal fin.
Coloration: The reasons for the unique coloration of Inia geoffrensis are poorly understood, but the presence of capillaries near the surface of the skin probably accounts for much of its characteristic pink flush. Other factors may include age of the animal, chemical disposition of the water (especially iron content), and the temperature of the water.
Pink Dolphin
river-pink-dolphins
