Protect Amazon River Dolphins
Will you support life below the waterline?
What’s happening above the Amazon waterline - is causing devastation below.
South American river dolphins are facing rapidly intensifying threats including climate change, deforestation, pollution, habitat fragmentation and bycatch. For several years now, populations have been in steep decline.
River dolphins are at high risk of extinction. What we do next above the waterline will determine the survival of life below it.
A delicate balance
Amazon river dolphins are amazing creatures. They are the unsung guardians of the river. Intelligent, adaptable and highly social too. Originally descended from their saltwater cousins, they've long been the top predator of the Amazon river basin.
A healthy river dolphin population is vital to the balance of the Amazon's vast freshwater ecosystem, which spans thousands of miles and supports an extraordinary diversity of life. Right now, that balance is nearing a tipping point.
South American River Dolphins
Of the six recognised species of river dolphins in the world, two are found in the Amazon. The larger Amazon river dolphin (the boto) and the smaller Grey river dolphin (the tucuxi).
THE BOTO
The tucuxi
THREATS AND SOLUTIONS
Drought
Deforestation and climate change are reducing rainfall in the Amazon, driving more frequent and severe droughts which destroy habitats and life above and below the waterline. In 2023 over 330 river dolphins were found dead from drought in Lake Tefé and Lake Coari in Brazil alone. They’d become trapped in the lakes, as the water levels dropped – and water temperatures soared up to 39C.
Solution
Addressing climate change and deforestation in the Amazon is now desperately urgent. We are working hard to halt deforestation whilst also developing early warning systems for drought and rescue plans to protect river dolphins from the impacts of climate change, but we need your support.
By Catch
Competition between fishers and river dolphins is high. Fishing nets are easy sources of food for river dolphins, but they often drown after becoming entangled. Communities rely on fish for food and income. If river dolphins take fish and damage fishing gear, fishers sometimes retaliate by killing them, threatening their survival even further.
Solution
Echolocation is a unique adaptation in river dolphins for navigation and hunting. This adaptation has led to the development of technology called a pinger – a small electronic device that when attached to fishing nets, emits high frequency sounds that warn dolphins to stay away. Trial results have been game-changing, and this simple solution is helping to improve co-existence between river dolphins and fishers, with your help we can expand this vital work.
Infrastructure
Dams built across Amazon rivers for electricity, agriculture, and flood control also isolate groups of river dolphins. Inhibiting free movement and reproduction and causing fragmentation. There are currently plans to build almost 500 new dams in addition to the 486 that have already fragmented dolphin populations. This could be catastrophic for river dolphins and many other aquatic species.
Solution
We are advancing policy to formally recognise river dolphins as key river and wetland indicator species. This will help enhance protections and halt dangerous developments, while enabling us to help guide infrastructure planning and licencing of new dams to ensure dolphins are protected from decisions made above the waterline.
Pollution
Illegal gold mining leaks mercury into the rivers. Health studies on Amazon river dolphins have shown dangerous levels of mercury in their bodies. This can impact their immune systems, leave them susceptible to disease, and cause abnormalities or death in their offspring.
Solution
We are working against illegal mining by conducting river dolphin population surveys and health assessments to understand the effects of mercury exposure and build evidence and cases to put to governments and businesses to help stop illegal mining. Will you stand with us?
Coming Together For River Dolphins
Understanding and evidencing the damage being done below the waterline is key to tackling it.
Everything we've achieved so far was only made possible thanks to insights from our monitoring projects through the South American River Dolphin Initiative, led by WWF-Brazil and supported by WWF-UK since 2018. Together our aim is to have ensured healthy and connected habitats in the Amazon by 2030.
The more we can protect river dolphins, the healthier the Amazon River will be. This could reduce the impact of climate change and prevent us reaching a ‘tipping point’ where damage can’t be undone.
To secure a future for river dolphins, we need to scale up our work. With your help we can further our monitoring efforts, expand pinger trials, strengthen community collaborations, and continue to put pressure on governments and businesses to halt destructive activities.
Will you protect life below the Amazon’s waterline?
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Your donation will help protect South American river dolphins and other life below the Amazon waterline – alongside funding other vital WWF conservation work. Thank you.