Reproduction
Females are ready to mate before males, around 6 to 10 years of age. Males are ready to mate between 7 and 12 years of age. It takes about 11 months for the young calves to be born after mating. The birthing time is usually in July as the water levels are decreasing and the fish are moving into the major water areas. The timeframe between births can be up to 5 years for the Amazon River Dolphin. They are known to be able to survive in the wild for up to 30 years.
Conservation Status and Threats
The Amazon River Dolphin continues to be threatened due to pollutants in the water. Not only do they make it very hard for the dolphins to survive, it also depletes the rivers of the food sources they need to get enough to eat. In some of these rivers, the implementation of hydroelectricity and irrigation have isolated the dolphins into segregated areas of habitat. They don’t have the ability to migrate when water levels are too low or when there isn’t enough food for survival in a given location.
In Bolivia and Brazil, these dolphins are fully protected by the law. There are some efforts on International levels in place to offer them the same protection in Venezuela, Peru, and Columbia. The fact that so many tourists come to see the pinkish colored dolphins is also a reason for some to take part in preserving them in order to keep people coming back to see them.
(source:google/http://www.dolphins-world.com/)
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