Life on the Forest Floor

The Amazon River dolphin averages about six and a half feet long. They come in all shades of pink, from a dull gray-pink, to rosy colored pink. They may be a bright pink like the color of a flamingo. It all depends on where it lives because the darker the water is, the pinker it will be. The sun's rays cause the dolphins to lose their pink color. Murky water helps to protect the dolphin's bright color. The Amazon river dolphin may become very bright when it gets excited.

There are several differences between the Amazon River dolphin and other types of dolphin. First, Amazon dolphins are able to turn their necks from side to side while other dolphins cannot. They can also paddle forward with one flipper while paddling backward with the other. This helps them to move during times when the river floods. These dolphins can swim up over the flooded land. They can direct themselves around the trees of the forest because they are so flexible.

Amazon River Dolphins have molar-like teeth that allow them to chew their prey, and bristle-like hairs at the ends of their snouts that help them search for food at the bottom of a muddy river. The Amazon river dolphin eats over 50 types of fish as well as crustaceans found on the river bottom. Sometimes they will eat turtles.

Amazon River dolphins are threatened by human activity. Some people see the dolphins as competition for fish. They kill dolphins so that they will not have to share the amount of fish in the river. The dolphins also get tangled up in the nets of fishermen and die. People also build hydroelectric dams in the South American rivers. These dams cause pollution and decrease of habitat and food.