Last Amazon River dolphin held captive has died
The last captive Amazon River dolphin has died after suffering cardiac arrest.
Huayrurín, was held at the Zoologico Quistococha tourist facility in Peru and was 19 years old. He had spent nearly all his life in captivity after being rescued in 2007 aged just six months when his mother was trapped in a fishing net and died.
In 2016, concerns were raised about the quality of Huayrurín's captive enclosure after he had injured himself on the uneven walls of the pool he was kept in.
Officially listed as endangered, these dolphins only live in freshwater in the wild – often thousands of miles from the sea, roaming in huge rivers, small tributaries, lakes, flooded forests and submerged grasslands. They also look very different to dolphins who live in the ocean. Born grey, adult Amazon River dolphins turn pink or pinkish-grey as they mature, with males being both bigger and pinker than females.
The passing of Huayrurín should be a landmark moment with no more river dolphins now held captive for human 'entertainment'. But the plight of these incredibly intelligent dolphins in the wild is also precarious.
We’ve been at the forefront of river dolphin conservation for more than three decades. We work closely with local organisations and communities in Colombia, Bolivia, and Peru, and education is a big part of what we do. While the climate crisis rages on, we are working hard to reduce the human threats they face to secure both their future and ours. We need the Amazon, and the Amazon needs river dolphins.
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