Amazon River Dolphin: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Dolphins and Otters · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. A boto can turn its head 90 degrees, because its neck vertebrae are not fused like those of oceanic dolphins.
2. Adult botos turn pink from repeated skin abrasion. Males are pinker, from more frequent trauma in fights with their own kind.
3. Hunting in murky water, a boto makes 30 to 80 clicks a second and uses the echoes to find its prey.
4. At feeding time, up to 35 pink river dolphins can team up to catch their prey.
5. Few toothed whales eat such a mix: botos catch as many as 53 kinds of fish, plus river turtles, water frogs and freshwater crabs.

The quiz

1. How far can a boto turn its head?

• 15 degrees
• 90 degrees (correct)
• 45 degrees
• 360 degrees

Its vertebrae are not fused, so the head can turn 90 degrees.

2. Why do adult botos turn pink?

• Repeated abrasion of the skin (correct)
• They eat pink shrimp
• The sun tints their skin
• They are born pink

Repeated skin abrasion turns adults pink, males more than females.

3. How many clicks per second do botos fire in murky water?

• 1 to 5
• 10 to 15
• 30 to 80 (correct)
• 300 to 800

They fire 30 to 80 clicks per second.

4. How many pink dolphins can work together to catch fish?

• Only 2 or 3
• As many as 8
• As many as 350
• As many as 35 (correct)

Up to 35 pink river dolphins can team up to catch prey.

5. How many species of fish do botos feed on?

• Up to 3
• Up to 53 (correct)
• Up to 12
• Up to 500

Botos eat as many as 53 kinds of fish.

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