The Inia geoffrensis, mysterious pink dolphin of the Amazon, lives thousands of kilometers from the sea. Little known, this aquatic animal, nicknamed “king of the dark waters”, was a real mystery for scientists. This cetacea, which frequents the fresh waters of the Amazon, becomes pink with age. When males struggle to measure their sexual dominance, they often injure themselves, and during the healing phase their skin becomes pink. Since 2014, we knew that this aquatic animal belonged to another species, the Inia Araguia, but we did not know where it came from and why it lived in fresh water. The research of the paleontologists ended up paying, and the enigma is finally resolved.
A dolphin that crosses the ages
“Ten million years ago, several species of cetaceans have invested the fresh waters,” explains Nicolas Bazeille, author of the documentary The mystery of the pink dolphin. But they are not particularly related: each has adapted to its own way. And the oldest of them is the Amazonian pink dolphin, which appeared around -25 million years ago. Before the birth of the Andes, between Venezuela and Colombia, there was an inland sea. The pink dolphin, who was already there, survived this geological upheaval and the birth of the Amazon. The pink dolphin has gone through the ages, and yet it is in danger, intensive fishing spares no species unfortunately… Luckily, some initiatives exist to protect them, such as in the reserve of Mamirauá, which protects the largest population of pink dolphins. Long live to them!
To learn more about swimming with dolphins, look at the documentary “The mystery of the pink dolphin”, directed by Nicolas Bazeille.